Count On You
by ShootingStar001
Summary: It's been six years since Big Time Rush left to become famous, and now they're returning back home to their roots. Anna Pierce, the ex girlfriend of Kendall has kept a secret from him for all that time. But when the guys come back, what will happen?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: I know, I've got no time to get into another story, but this has sat in my files for over two months, just the prolouge, and I've never gotten the chance to write any more of it. Finally, I've decided to go ahead and give the story a shot. This is basically angst/romance this time. And for a while it'll be more angst than romance. **

**I will continue to update **_Worldwide: Kella One-Shots _**but it will be pushed back a bit, as I really want to get this story written. Now, here's the prolouge to **_Count On You**.**_

_**Count On You**_

_Prologue:_

Before Kendall, James, Logan and Carlos were Big Time Rush; they were small time guys from a small city named Sherwood, Minnesota. Before they left, we learn the untold story of Annabelle Peirce, Kendall Knight's girlfriend. The wavy black haired, dark brown eyed, mysterious girl that he fell in love with.

* * *

Anna Peirce was walking over to the Knight house one cold, snowy Thursday night. She had practically lived with them, since her parents had died three years ago, a week after she turned 12. Her aunt had custody of her, but she worked nearly every day, a business trip every week.

Mrs. Knight, always the kindest person she knew, offered to take care of her when her aunt was gone, which was nearly every day. Anna's mom had left behind a small fortune to her, so she could support herself, but that still left behind one thing a kid needed; love.

After two years of spending nonstop time at the Knight House, she had started to develop more than just friendly feelings for the blond haired boy: Kendall Knight, the school's hockey star.

Carlos, James and Logan, Kendall's other friends always were around the house. It took Katie, his younger sister, the least amount of time for her to notice Anna's crush on her brother. Carlos was next, having teased her nonstop. Then James, which she knew was inevitable, he was the school pretty boy, and he knew relationships best. Logan was last, not able to really read girls, though he could read any book you laid in front of him over night.

Kendall was oblivious to it for the longest time, and unknowingly had the same crush on her. Both the teens held in their feelings for over a year, knowing that it would ruin their friendship if one of them said they liked each other, and the other didn't feel the same way.

One day, Anna had overheard James, Carlos, Logan and Kendall. Talking about who they were taking to the school dance next week. Kendall was being paraded by the other boys to ask Rebecca Johnson, the head cheerleader who had the biggest crush on him.

Hearing that, Anna told Kendall the real way that she felt about him. Of course, he was shocked at first, not really able to comprehend what she had said. He thought it was some dream, or the guys were pulling a prank on him –because they knew he had a crush on her.

For a year, Anna and Kendall dated. Katie wasn't surprised in the least, and gave an exasperated "_Finally_". Carlos and James both cheered at the news. Logan started to ramble facts of how most relationships are doomed to end –much to the distaste of the others. Mrs. Knight was a little shocked, but accepted they were both growing up, and that it was bound to happen.

During that year, everything was great. Many of the girls at school envied Anna; she was dating the head hockey star. Kendall got more respect from the other hockey players, having finally gotten his first girlfriend. Everything seemed fine.

Carlos, James and Logan were freaked out at seeing Anna and Kendall kiss in public, because both of them were their friends. During the year they got more used to it, and it seemed like a normal thing now. Though it still grossed them out a bit, and they groaned in distaste when they did it. Tp which Anna would always say, "It wouldn't be gross to you if you had a girlfriend."

On the day of their one year anniversary of dating, they went all the way. Many would think that they were young, love struck teenagers. Having sex at sixteen wasn't on either of their to-do lists. Kendall and Anna both had promised their parents that they would wait until they were married, with their true love. But they believed that they were each other's true love, even if they were only 16.

At the time, they both though that it was the greatest day of their lives. Neither of them really thought the consequences through.

But by the end of the cold January, Anna had started to throw up. She didn't think anything of it, thinking that it was a stomach bug. Little did she know of how much this 'stomach bug' would change her life.

Everyone knows what happens next. Gustavo Rocque comes to their sad little town, and looks for new talent. Anna wasn't there for any of it, having been with her aunt, for the weekend that she was off.

The day that she got back to the Sherwood grocery store, she learned of what had happened. Kendall had been picked by the famous Gustavo Rocque to be his next big project. He had negotiated with Gustavo: if he wanted him, then he had to take all four of them, meaning him, Carlos, James and Logan.

By the end of the week, Kendall, the guys, and his family were leaving to Hollywood for them to be famous. The airport was the couples final goodbye before Kendall left. Anna, who was usually happy and energetic, was sad and shed tears as the gate number was called.

Kendall made a promise, to himself and Anna that he would always call. They knew how stupid it was for them to have a long distance relationship. The odds that they would work out, being hundreds of miles away were slim. But they believed they could do it.

By the end of the next week, Anna had gone to the doctor because her vomiting. She thought it might be something like the stomach flu, or something along those lines.

After the blood and urine was looked over, she got the shock of her life, learning she was pregnant. Nothing could have surprise her more. Her mind went to one person: Kendall. He was the only person she had 'done it' with. But it seemed impossible. Then again, they hadn't used protection. But the odds of it going wrong seemed so slim then.

The day that she called Kendall to tell him that she may be pregnant with his child. Before she even said anything, he said something that crushed her already weak heart. He said, "Anna, I'm sorry, but long distance relationships don't work out well. And I think that we shouldn't keep this up. We never get to see each other, and it's too hard." She couldn't even speak, and the phone fell to the hard concrete outside, and broke into pieces.

From that day, she rarely got a phone call from Kendall Knight. About two weeks after he had broken up with her, she saw a magazine at the local store, reading _'Kendall Knight and Jo Taylor?'_

Life from then fell downwards at rapid speeds. When Anna told her aunt about her being pregnant, she was kicked out of the house, forced to move back into her parents old house. At school, she was scorned, it may have been better if the father of her baby was still here, but it wasn't that way. The start of the second semester, she dropped out of regular school, and went into homeschool for the rest of the year.

For the start of her Junior year, she continued homeschool. Not a word from anyone around her. Her aunt pretended as if she didn't exist, and if someone asked, she would say that Anna had moved out, not the other way around. Kendall didn't call, and she couldn't seem to get the courage to call him.

When October came around, she knew that the baby was coming soon. The doctor said it was due at around the 28th of the month. On October 31st, she gave birth to her mystery baby.

A healthy baby girl was born, Karlie Ann Peirce. The first thing that Anna noticed was the little girl had the same olive green eyes as Kendall. She had a small amount of black hair on her tiny head, and she already looked like the prefect combo of the two parents.

Anna, for some reason, thought that this Halloween was more special than any other she could have asked for. The little baby girl that was in her arms was the only thing that reminded her that Kendall had even existed. Memories fade in time, but her baby wouldn't. From the day she was born, Karlie Ann Peirce was the most treasured thing in Anna's life.

Six years passed. Karlie grew up too fast for Anna's liking. She was really the perfect combo of Kendall and Anna. She had the same wavy black hair as her mother, but the exact green eyes that Kendall only had.

Anna was a fifth grade teacher at Sherwood Elementary, where Karlie started in Kindergarten that year. Life seemed alright. Anna was left money from her parents so that she could support her and her daughter without worry. And she could see her daughter at school every day.

During the past six years, Big Time Rush had more than just a roller coaster ride. After a year, their first album came out, and got onto the best-selling list –giving them a name. Over the rest of the time, they put out two more albums one of which got them a Grammy. They got a few music awards, and succeeded in bringing the boy band back.

But after the fourth year, people started to stray away from them. Their fans started to out grown their music, and they seemed _too_ old to still be in a boy band. And soon their last contract was up.

They lived in L.A a little longer. Mrs. Knight and Katie moved into a small house, and Katie went into high school.

Kendall and Jo had fallen through, soon after he learned she was cheating on him with her co-star. Jo and Jett Stetson were now engaged, living on the beach of California. Since then he hadn't had a relationship. Carlos still had yet to get a relationship. James had dated numerous amounts of girls, but he refused to be tied down. Logan and Camille both dated for six years before he had the courage to propose.

Soon, they decided to move on with their lives. Logan and Camille were engaged, and he planned on studying to become a doctor again, while she would work at a theater. Carlos wanted to get into the police business, like his dad. James had gotten modeling and acting jobs. Kendall planned on being a hockey coach, seeing as he wasn't practiced enough to become a hockey star. None of them really needed to work, seeing as Big Time Rush had earned them enough to retire at 22, but they did it anyways.

All of them decided one thing together though. They wanted to move back to Minnesota. None of them knew how much of a shock they would get soon.

And now, we will learn the complete, story of what happens when the former band, Big Time Rush comes back to their small town, and learns of all the things they really left behind.

With every choice, comes a consequence, and Kendall Knight is about to be faced with one too big for him to handle.

**Author's Note: Just the prolouge, because I have to fit six years of time into one chapter before I can get to the real story. I'm not sure what to do with the story -keep writting or dump it. Guess it depends on the feedback.**

**-Sherwood: I've got no idea if that is a name of a real town in Minessota, or anywhere to be honest. I just remember that the grovery store that Kendall worked at the sign said 'Sherwood' so that'll be the town name, whether it's real or not. (I'm a tad bit obsessed with the show, and watch it a lot, the only reason I would even know the store said Sherwood on it.)**

**Please review, because I'm really not sure with this story, it's much more intense than I'm used to. So... that button is waiting...**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Finally, the first chapter. Thanks for all the love on the prolouge, which I would like to personally thank you for. (Sorry for any grammer or spelling errors -it's nearly 2:00 in the morning in my time, and I should be asleep, but I had to get this done.)**

**This is dedicated to **surfergal23** because her stories **What We Were **and the sequeal **Is Love Ever Enough **inspired me to get this story going, and have Chapter 1 written.**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 1:_

For the past few weeks, the moving vans were passing in and out of Sherwood. Four brand new houses stood in the small town. All of them were fit to the person: James had a new modern type house, with brand new furniture and a steel kitchen. Logan and Camille bought a regular brick house, with a giant room that was turned into Logan's own office/study/library. Carlos had a bachelor house. Full with high-tech gadgets and flat screen TV's. And Kendall had a four bedroom house, which had wooden paneling. The basement though was turned into his own Hockey Haven.

Having just unpacked into their brand new houses, Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan were at the local Starbucks, grabbing a coffee on an early Saturday morning. Even though it was only September, the chilled air was colder than anything was in sunny L.A.

Carlos exclaimed, "How cool is it to be back in Minnesota?" He asked, taking a large sip of his drink.

"It's too cold." James replied, "I am not getting _any _tan here."

Logan rolled his eyes, "James, you're twenty two; I can't see how you're still hung up on getting the perfect tan."

James scoffed, "I have to look good –besides, you're so pale you wouldn't understand." Logan opened his mouth to retaliate, but Kendall cut him across.

"Guys, don't fight. We just got back to Minnesota, and you should be happy. James, your tan doesn't matter. Logan, you've got a wedding in a few months. So let's just sit back and relax until Camille makes you leave to start planning." To prove his point, Kendall leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms behind his head.

Carlos nodded, "Yeah, Camille will be Camille Mitchell soon –that'll be weird to say." He mumbled, earning a look from Logan. "It's good to be back, maybe it'll snow soon."

James smiled, "Yeah, we can see all our childhood friends –Is that Jenny Tinkler?" He asked suddenly, pointing over Carlos and Logan's shoulders.

Both turned around, and no doubt, the klutzy girl was tripping over her own feet, and knocked a waiter that was carrying hot coffee over, spilling it over someone's shirt.

Kendall looked around. It seemed so familiar, the entire town. Though it had been six years, nothing had changed. The roads, the shops, nothing. It was like he was sixteen again, just stepping into the dream that he had since leaving. Going home was really a dream come true, for all of the boys.

He had loved it in L.A, but it wasn't truly home. 2J, their awesome apartment may have been crazy cool, but it was never the home atmosphere he was used to. The snow of Minnesota was gone, and the California sun replaced it. He may have lived there for six years, but it wasn't his home. Minnesota was; the small town of Sherwood.

He turned to his friends. "After this, what are we doing?"

Logan looked up, biting his lip, "Applying to medical school. Then Camille wanted to look at wedding books and things. We though a spring wedding."

Carlos laughed, "You mean Camille was thinking a spring wedding. Dude, you're such a sucker for her… I've got to go to the police station and fill out transfer stuff."

James, who was oblivious to the conversation, was looking away randomly, before Kendall hit his arm. He mumbled, "I'm going to get a haircut." They all gave him doubtful looks, and he rephrased it, "I'm getting a _trim. _Then I might look around and stuff." He shrugged.

All three of them turned to Kendall, and he just replied, "I'm going to get a job as a Hockey coach." He passively said, taking a sip of coffee.

There was a long silence, and for a minute they just sat there, looking around. Breaking the silence, Kendall randomly blurt out, "Isn't it weird being back here after so long… I mean, it's been six years, but it feels like yesterday."

They all just shrugged, and Logan responded, "It does, but it's good to be back. Feels like life's settling down. I mean, we couldn't be Big Time Rush forever, we all knew that-" James opened his mouth to interrupt, but he continued, "well, most of us knew that. And now we're all living our dreams, mostly. Carlos' dream to be a superhero never worked out."

Carlos' eyebrow furrowed, and he frowned. "In my defense, at sixteen that seemed like a good thing to be in the future."

James chuckled, "Most of us gave up wanting to a superhero at six, not sixteen. You're a little late on growing up."

"It would have been fun." The Latino replied, still trying to defend his sixteen year old self.

Kendall laughed at his friends' argument. Same old guys, they didn't let fame change them, other than Hollywood fever, but that passed. He looked around the room, not searching for anything in particular.

One thing caught his eye. Over at the counter, ordering what looked like a coffee, was a girl. She had black hair, which was pulled into a messy bun on the back of her head. She had a pea-coat on, jeans, and some boots. Why did she look so familiar to him?

The girl turned to go grab some napkins, and he caught her face. Those sparkling brown eyes; he could have never forgotten them. Annabelle Peirce. His heart dropped, and he nearly spilled the drink in his hand in surprise.

He felt terrible, even after all these years. He had dumped her over a _phone call_. He felt like a jerk for it, and then right after it he started to date Jo. Wow, he never felt as bad as he did seeing her face again. The first girl he dated, the person he gave his virginity to. It was more than enough to shock him after not seeing or speaking to her in over six years.

Starting to get up, he was dead set on going to talk to her. But Anna tore her eyes from him, grabbing her things, and quickly rushed out the door.

Moving back to Minnesota might be a little more complicated than he thought.

* * *

Anna walked into the local Starbucks, slightly cold. She didn't have to teach today, seeing as it was a weekend, but she needed to get home soon. Karlie was probably very hyper, like usual, and Ms. Walters was probably not having much fun watching her.

Stepping up to the counter, she said, "Hot Chocolate." Even as an adult, she could never take the taste of coffee. It was just plain nasty to her.

Once her drink was up, she stepped over to grab some napkins, and saw a figure from the corner of her eye. _It couldn't be, he left for Hollywood six years ago._ She thought, pausing in her place.

Looking back over, she gasped. Kendall Knight. He wasn't alone, Carlos, James and Logan were all around him, but Anna seemed to only care about seeing him. It had been six years, she should be over him. But seeing him here again, it was like he never left.

He was looking directly at her, which was the thing she noticed right away. His green eyes focused on her face. Kendall hadn't changed much in the six years. His hair was the same dirty blonde, and his bangs pushed to the side. The only difference is he had grown up a bit. His eyebrows didn't looks as bushy compared to his face, and his cheekbones a little more noticeable. But, he could still pass for the sixteen year old version of himself.

All four boys could, they had lost a little child roundness in their faces, and looked a little more mature, but they still seemed the same to Anna. They were her only friends from back then.

She almost took the step towards them, to talk to them again. But then she remembered just how much they had hurt her; Kendall especially. He might have not meant to, but he still did. He had no idea how much it hurt that he broke up with her over a phone. And it had to be the phone call that she was going to tell him that she was pregnant with his baby.

Grabbing her napkin, she looked back at them, pushing a stray of hair away from her face. Kendall started to stand up, but she quickly grabbed her cocoa and purse before hurrying out the door. There was a time and place that she would talk to him, but it wasn't today.

The drive home was quiet, and she muttered to no one, "What am I going to do? I don't want to have Karlie meet him and then he leaves us, but if I don't tell him then I'll never know if he would have stayed."

Pulling into the driveway, she sighed, laying her head on the steering wheel for a moment. Grabbing her things, she headed to the house. It was a regular three bedroom house, the one she had live in since the Knight's had left –her parents old house.

Anna unlocked the door, stepping inside. The first thing she heard a squeal of happiness and then the running of feet on the hardwood floor. A small, black haired, green eyed five year old was bounding to her, "Mommy!" Karlie called, smiling brightly.

The small six year old ran up to her, and Anna scooped her up, laughing. Anna grinned at her, "I left you for five minutes to get some hot chocolate, you sound like I left for years."

Anna thanked Ms. Walters as she entered the room, and after the door closed, she walked into the living room, still holding her daughter on her hip. Karlie looked up, her green eyes sparkling, "Can we get a dog?" She asked randomly.

Trying not to laugh, Anna played along and asked, "What kind of dog would you want?"

Karlie promptly replied, "A red dog –a big red dog." She pointed to the TV, "I want a dog like Clifford."

Rolling her eyes at the kids silliness, she sighed, "Sorry Karlie, but we can't get a dog. Maybe in a year or so." Of course, the six year old girl started to whine, and Anna groaned. Karlie was really a work of art, "Tell you what, we can make cookies that look like dogs."

Being a six year old, Karlie seemed to think that was a fair deal, and she jumped up, and rushed to the kitchen.

Anna looked around the kitchen, it was cozy, and regular size. It was decorated with pictures of mostly Karlie, and some of Anna with her. There was no evidence of Karlie's father ever being here. No picture of him before she was born, or after. Because he wasn't there.

They started to make the cookies, little Karlie seeming to have the time of her life using the cookie cutters and playing with the dough. But Anna was distracted through the entire thing. Her thoughts were all on the one and only Kendall Knight.

* * *

The next week passed, and everything seemed normal. All of Big Time Rush moved into their new houses. Carlos joined the police department; Kendall was the new hockey coach. Logan enrolled in the medical school he had been talking about since her was sixteen, and James was still yet to get a real job. Camille worked at the local theater, everything seemed good.

Kendall had started to forget about seeing Anna again. She looked the same, one of the things that bothered it. It probably wouldn't have been bad if she looked different, but her eyes, her lips, her nose, her hair, it was all the same. It was so hard to see the girl that he once loved again, after everything had fallen through.

He stepped out of his house, the chilly September air making him shiver a bit, seeing as he only wore a short sleeved shirt.

Walking down the street, he went to the old park that he used to visit when he needed a place to be alone. It was small, no playground or anything, just a few benches and a sign declaring it a park. But, it was a place that could help you think things through.

Kendall plopped down onto the bench, sighing, "Why can't I get Anna out of my head? We broke up over five years ago." He leaned his head back, groaning.

Pulling his beanie over his eyes, he just sat there. Maybe he wouldn't run into her, maybe they could dodge the awkward conversation that seemed inevitable. Then again, Sherwood was a small town, it was hard to dodge people in it.

He would just have to try. Anna probably had a different life now, she probably had grown from the mysterious sixteen year old girl he knew. She probably was just visiting –that was it! He always thought she'd move from this small town.

"Is this seat taken?" Someone asked quietly, obviously asking Kendall.

Reaching up, he removed the hat from over his face, "No-" He looked at the person, his heart falling, "Anna."

The black haired girl seemed just as surprised, and she let out a long breath, "Kendall."

**Author's Note: So, any good. The next chapter is going to be VERY intense, and you need to review to find out what happens...**

**(I needed to add a little bit of Karlie into the chapter so you could see what she's like.)**

**Check out **surfergal23**, she's amazing, and makes THE BEST Kendall/OC stories that I've ever read on fanfiction.**

**Also, I'm looking for OC stories to read, if anyone knows one, or is writting on tell me, because I love them. Doesn't matter what BTR the OC is for, but I really love Kendall/OC ones the best most of the time.**

**Review, please... I want to get to at least twelve before I go to the next chapter.**

**12 review= 2nd Chapter. I'll start writting, but I really want the reviews before hand!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm keeping my promise, and since I got up to 14 reviews -when I asked for 12- I promised that I would update. I had to speed type this, just because I wanted to make sure it got published ASAP! I hope the Kendall/Anna scene is as angsty as I wanted it to be.**

**Happy New Year, it's exactly 12:00 in the morning now, and I'm writting while watching the ball drop. Hope 2011 is gonna be a great year for everyone.**

_Disclaimer: I own Kendall... if only that Kendall was Kendall Schmidt and not a stuffed animal named after him._

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 2:_

Both Kendall and Anna stood there awkwardly, and Anna fiddled with her fingers through her gloves, looking down. She looked up, and grimaced, "Never mind on the seat, I've got something to do anyways." She dismissed, and started to walk away.

For some reason, that Kendall didn't understand, he grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving. "Anna, wait." He said quietly.

She turned around, shivering a bit. "Kendall, just let go. I'm cold and need to get home." She remarked, trying to tug from his surprisingly strong grasp.

Kendall took a long breath, "We're going to have to run into each other a lot, and it'd be a lot easier to break the ice now then have that awkward feeling all the time."

Anna frowned at him, and tried to cross her arms, only to have the one Kendall was holding still not move. "Kendall, there's nothing to talk about, because that awkward feeling is _always _going to be there."

He narrowed his eyes, "Since when did you become so pessimistic?" He asked.

"Since when did you use words like pessimistic?" Anna threw back, raising an eyebrow at the blonde. He opened his mouth to respond, only to close it again, "Plus, I'm not pessimistic, I just know that after you're in a relationship with a guy and he hangs up with you on a phone call, you kind of get awkward around him."

Kendall started to say, "Listen Anna, I'm sorry. All I want is for you _not _to hate me, that's it. You don't have to like me, talk to me, even forgive me. Just don't hate me."

She looked him in the eyes, the green eyes she looked into everyday when looking at her daughter, the daughter he'd never known, "Kendall, I never thought I'd say this, but I do hate you."

He threw his hands up, finally releasing her wrist, "I'm sorry I broke up with you over a phone call, I wasn't even thinking."

"I guess I should be happy that I at least heard you say it, it would have been worse if you just sent me a text." Anna replied, not sounding any happier, "Kendall, let's just forget all of this. I already determined in my mind that you're gone. Six years ago, when you left me, I let you go. I didn't pin on you. And now that you're back, it's going to be the same way as it's been. Let's just pretend that we don't exist, and stay away from each other."

Kendall's eyebrows scrunched up, "What's gotten into you?"

She whipped a small tear from her eye, "You got into me. I was fine before you came back. I had a good life, and I could pretend none of that happened. And now you're back, and I have to go through the same thing as six years ago."

He sighed, "I'm really sorry, about everything."

Anna just looked down, forcing her eyes not to let the tears come back. She shed the last tear over Kendall Knight a long time ago, and she had promised she wouldn't let any of her tears be over him again. "Has anyone ever told you that sorry doesn't solve everything?" She questioned.

"Yeah, mom used to say it all the time." Kendall mumbled. "If it helps, I am though."

She looked up, not really looking at him though, "It doesn't."

"Can I at least explain?" Kendall asked, biting his lip a bit. He just wanted to break _some_ of the awkwardness between them.

Anna took a breath, and nodded slowly, sitting down on the bench. "I've got to get home soon though."

"It'll only take a minute." Kendall took a long breath, and then started, "Well, we never saw each other, and we couldn't talk much because you had school, and I had the band. And, I didn't want to keep stringing us both along, so I thought I'd be easier on both of us if we broke up." He looked down, "Guess that didn't work well."

Anna sarcastically mumbled, "And what great timing it was." Kendall didn't hear her though, and she just turned to him, "I don't really want you to make an excuse. I get it fine. There's a bunch of pretty girls in L.A, and I'm not much compared to them."

Kendall shook his head immediately, "It's got nothing to do with other girls."

Finally, the dark haired girl laughed, "So that whole _Kendall Knight and Jo Taylor Dating_ thing a week later was just a big rumor." When he didn't respond, "I used to think you were a better person than that."

He shot back, "I used to think that you were forgiving."

Anna narrowed her eyes, "I only forgave people because they deserved it, and you –Kendall- don't." She retorted.

Kendall threw his hands up into the air again, "What did I do?"

She lowly replied, "For one, you broke up with me in a phone call. And two, during that phone call I was going to tell you-" She stopped herself, biting her tongue from letting more words slip by.

He looked at her, raising a bushy eyebrow, "You were going to tell me what?"

Anna said, "Nothing."

He repeated, "What were you going to tell me?"

She only huffed again, "Nothing, now leave it." She got up, huddling her coat closer over her shoulders. "Goodbye Kendall." She said, before starting to walk away.

Kendall expected himself to yell after her, but when he opened his mouth to speak, no words came out. Soon, the dark haired girl disappeared from his view, heading down the street.

He got up, and decided that this park wasn't as good for relaxing as it was when he was sixteen. Now, it just held secrets, secrets that even he didn't know. Heading down the street, he pulled his beanie off, the cool September day not bothering him like before. He had something else on his mind.

What was Anna going to say? Maybe that she loved him? They had said that to each other before though, so it wouldn't have been big. That was the only thing that Kendall could think of. What else could be big?

* * *

The entire walk back home he was thinking about it, and he walked down the driveway to the door of his new house.

"Kendall!" Four familiar voices called from a distance.

He turned around, and saw Carlos, James and Logan walking from their separate yards. He mumbled a quiet, "Hey," That none of them probably heard.

As they all got over to him, Logan asked, "What's wrong?"

Kendall just waved his hand, "Nothing, just… thinking."

"Thinking about…" James prompted, motioning for him to continue on.

The blond just shrugged, "Stuff."

Carlos smiled, "Well, I know what will cheer you up!" He announced happily.

The two other guys stared waving their hands frantically, "No, no, no." They both chorused, trying to tell him to keep his mouth shut.

The Latino just continued as if they had never said anything, "Well, James, Logan and I went to that sporting store –the one we used to get hockey stuff from all the time. You'll never guess who we saw." Kendall bit his lip, he mentally was chanting _don't say Anna, don't say Anna_.

James and Logan tried to cover his mouth, but Carlos pushed them away, "This'll cheer him up, I'm sure." He declared, turning back to Kendall, "We saw Anna! She was looking at some skates. Isn't that cool, we haven't seen her in forever."

Both the brunette boys gave him a shove on one of his shoulders, and Carlos frowned. Kendall was just standing there, still a bit confused, a bit lost, and a bit still wondering what Anna was going to say. Since when did he have that much room in his head?

Logan turned to Carlos, "See, this is why we _weren't _going to mention it in front of Kendall, let alone announce it to him."

Kendall shoved his hands into his pockets, not really listening anymore, "Yeah, I'm going to go inside. I'll see you guys later." He said, looking off into space. Without waiting for them to respond, he walked up the drive, and unlocked his front door, stepping inside.

He walked downstairs to his basement. It was a hockey room, that's the only way to describe it. Flat screen for games, a mini fridge in the corner, an array of hockey sticks and equipment spewed around the room. His old hockey jersey from high school hung proudly on the wall, for him to see. And a cabinet filled with snacks on one side of the room. A large, leather couch sitting in the middle, with a coffee table that was used at a footrest. Again; Hockey room.

Plopping down on the comfy sofa, he grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on. Kendall murmured, "Maybe hockey will take my mind off it."

* * *

Anna reached her street in a few minutes, grabbing Karlie from her friends down the street. As they walked back to their house, Karlie babbled, "Caitlyn's mom made us some cupcakes, and then we went and played in her backyard, and then we ran around and played tag."

Anna smiled at her daughter, "Did you have fun?" She asked.

Karlie nodded vigorously, giving a toothy grin, "What did you do, mom?"

Biting her lip for a second, she knew she didn't want to lie to her little girl. Anna wanted her to know better than that, but what was she to say? _I talked with the guy who's your father, but he doesn't know._ That would confuse the little girl, and she'd probably not hear any word but _father._

Sighing, she replied, "I went for a walk, and stayed in the park for a bit." She wasn't really lying, but it still felt wrong, even if it was a white lie. Her daughter should grow up with better influences. She probably wasn't a great one when you looked at it anyways; Sixteen year old who got knocked up by her boyfriend, who left before he even knew, aunt threw her out of the house, and she had to drop from regular school to learning at home, and then giving birth to a baby without the father beside of her.

Suddenly, the little black haired girl asked, "Mom, is daddy around?"

Anna froze for a second. Karlie couldn't possibly know that Kendall was her father, no one but her and Anna's aunt did. That's it. Swallowing, Anna asked, "Why?"

Karlie played with her fingers, "Caitlyn said that her daddy was going to father, daughter day at school next week. And I want my daddy to be there."

"I don't think he'll be able to come." She replied thickly, her voice laced with fogginess.

"Mommy," Anna turned to the little girl, "Why don't I ever see daddy? All the kids in my class get to see their dads every day, and I don't ever remember seeing him." Karlie whispered, holding tightly to her mother's hand, looking up with puppy dog eyes.

Anna forced the tear back. She hated how Karlie didn't ever get the chance to meet her father, and she knew the pain of not getting the love _only _parents could give. When her parents died, she felt more alone than ever. "Your dad left." Karlie's eyes started to well up, and Anna stopped walking, kneeling down and whipped the tears from her face, "Not because he didn't love us, I'm positive that he would have loved you. He and his best friends were given the opportunity of a lifetime, and they had to go after it." She explained lightly.

Karlie bit her lip, and nodded slowly, "Will he ever come back and see us?"

"That's something even I can't answer."

When they got back to the house, Anna quickly helped Karlie into her PJ's, and settled her into bed, before heading back to her own room.

For most of the night she was up, staring at the ceiling. A face, with olive green eyes, wind-swept blond hair and bushy eyebrows clouded her mind.

**Author's Note: Before you ask, some schools do Father-Daughter Days at them, because I remembering going to one of them when I was in 1st grade. I just thought it would be a cute little thing to add in, and show that Karlie really wants to know her daddy. I really liked the intense scene before that, between Kendall and Anna (Kenna!)because of the angst like feeling, and the high tensions.**

**-I had a comment about how Kendall would react to being a dad. Well, I'm still trying to figure it out for myself. He won't be figuring it out for quite a while, Chapter 10 being the earliest, more likely later in the story. He'll meet Karlie, but he won't know that he's her dad for a while. I've got a few little tricks up my sleeve for the next few chapters.**

**Review, please! I would love for it to get over 20. Please, I'll update quicker -unless I have something going on and can't get the time to write.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm back again, and I'd love to thank you for the possitive responces, they mean loads to me. This chapter is more of getting ready for some BIG drama that'll take place in the next chapter.**

**I've got to give a shout out to **Koala75 **because of their comment. Here's just part of it that I found very funny: **_I actually love how there's punctuation and sentance __structures that make sense. It's not mindless fangirl rah rah rah _**this Chapter is for you, as that part of your comment made my day!**

_Disclaimer: I'm not gonna say it... I don't own BTR alright? I'm not repeating myself._

_**Count on You**_

_Chapter 3:_

A few days went by; Anna had kept her promise to Kendall. She strayed far away from him, and if she happened to see him on the street, she kept walking. Her luck did improve though, she saw him less frequently, and when she did, it was always without Karlie. Kendall was still blissfully unaware he had a little six year old daughter. And it was easier that way. If she told him, there were two options: He would be the father Karlie always wanted, or he'd let both of them down, and wouldn't stay around.

The final school bell rang, and the class of fifth graders that Anna taught started to pack their things. Finally, they started to pile out of the classroom, and a few called back, "Bye Ms. Peirce!" Class was the only place that Anna was ever called, 'Ms. Peirce.' Otherwise, she was just Anna, nothing more.

She sighed, watching the last little girl walk from the classroom, and grabbed her bag from under the desk, pushing her papers inside of it.

"Mom!" A happy voice called, and Karlie came bounding into the room. Anna smiled, as her little girl sat on the top of a desk.

Anna replied, "One day, you're going to fall off that desk, and it'll hurt." Little Karlie merely shrugged.

Rolling her green eyes, she said, "I won't fall." After a pause, Karlie spoke up, "My teacher gave us a note." She held out a bright piece of paper. "She read it to us, the theater is going to put on a play, and I wanted to go out for it."

Anna smiled, "What play would that be?" Looking down at the note for a second.

Karlie immediately responded, "Beauty and the Beast." Pointing at the note, she started to say, "I want to go out for Belle."

"I'm sure you'd be a great Belle."

Biting her lip, the little girl asked, "What if I don't get that part? What do I do then?"

Anna sighed, "Then you'll get another part. Even if you don't get the lead part, that doesn't mean that you're not important." She picked the girl up, "Besides, I think as long as you're in it it'll be great." She replied sweetly.

"Thanks mommy… How come moms always know what to say?" Karlie asked spaciously.

She just shrugged, and simply replied, "I used to ask my mom the same question before she was gone, and she just told me mothers know what to say, always."

"She was right."

Both of the girls laughed, and Anna grabbed her things from her desk, slinging the bag over her shoulder, and they headed out the door of her classroom.

Karlie rambled on what she did in school today, like make macaroni art and colored. But Anna's mind was far off from that. She was thinking about Kendall. She'd never thought she'd hear or see from him again after that last phone call six years ago. Yet now she saw him, she heard him talk to familiar faces all the time.

Why did she have to think about him? She should truly hate him, that's the way it should be. He broke up with her _over the phone_. Not in person, in a phone call. But she couldn't seem to hate him, for any reason other than that he wasn't there.

She should have told him, she should have said that she was pregnant on that call. Maybe he'd be here, maybe he'd be the father that Karlie desperately needed. Anna was having an internal battle as they walked down the hall. Tell Kendall, or keep it a secret to be safe. What if he ran though? Then what would she do. The Kendall that came back here wasn't the same as the one she loved, he had changed, no matter how much he tried not to.

Anna distantly heard Karlie say, "The auditions are at the local theater, we're supposed to go there before four o'clock, or else the stage person'll be gone."

Nodding, still deep in thought, Anna finally reached her car, making sure that Karlie had a seatbelt on; she started the engine, driving down the street.

* * *

Sherwood was a very tiny town, and you could walk nearly everywhere from your house. Since today was cold, Anna opted to drive rather than have Karlie walk with her in the chilly air. The theater was just down the street, but Karlie was talking nonstop the entire ride there.

"And then we had recess, and me and Caitlyn went on the playground-" She was going on about.

Anna interrupted her, picking her up out of the car, "Take a breath, you've talked for so long I'm surprised you can still breathe." She joked, "Now, we're here, let's go ahead in."

Karlie skipped inside, and pulled her mom by the hand. Once inside, there was a large theater stage, and many rows of seats. Anna saw a few doors that lead to other room around there, but Karlie was too excited to let her look around.

Once they went up to the stage, Karlie saw a group of friends from her class, and ran over to talk with them. Anna sighed happily, smiling, "She sure has her father's popularity."

She went to sit in one of the seats, but ended up hitting someone else, their papers flying everywhere. "I'm so sorry." Anna said, grabbing a handful of papers.

The woman, around her age with very curly brown hair replied, "No problem, I'm Camille by the way, the person in charge of the play. You're one of the volunteers?" She asked, noticing Anna was too young looking to be a mom.

Anna shook her head, "Mom actually," She motioned to her daughter, who was running around the stage, playing tag with the other kids.

Camille's eyebrow arched up, "Really?" She paused to gather the rest of the scripts, "You look to young to be a mom –well, a mom of a five year old." She corrected herself, "How old are you?"

"Twenty two." She said immediately.

"So you were sixteen when you got pregnant?" Anna nodded, knowing that she would ask a bunch of questions. "Boyfriend?" Again, she nodded, "Usually that happens a lot more in L.A –I just moved here a few days ago with my fiancé and his friends from there." She explained, "I didn't think there was a lot of drama in small towns… So, how'd it happen?"

Anna sighed, "My boyfriend and I thought we were in love, and did _it_ without thinking. He moved away before I told him, and when I called him to try and tell him he broke up with me before I could say anything about it. He still has no idea about her." She said sadly, looking as her little girl laughed around the stage.

Camille gave her a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry, that stinks. What's her name?"

"Karlie Ann." She replied, "I wish that he would have been there to help me through it and named her, but I never could call him after that." She internally slapped herself, "I'm spilling my guts out to someone I just met, I'm sorry, I guess I just needed to get that off my chest."

"No worries." Camille replied, "My fiancé and I are thinking about kids –after we get settled and marry. I always wanted a little girl…" She trailed off, "At least you have her right, to remind you of him, if that's a good thing." She said carefully.

Anna smiled, "I loved him, he was the first person I loved since my parents died back when I was thirteen. He'll always have a place in my heart." She then blurted out, "Karlie's got his eyes though, she reminds me of him a lot; her personality."

"What's his name?"

Anna bit her lip, not sure if she should say. Kendall was back in town, and if Camille met him, then she could tell him. "I'd rather not say."

Camille just shrugged, "Alright, I probably wouldn't know them anyway. You're the first person here that I've met so far, it's good being able to talk with a girl again. Back in L.A the last girl I hung out with was a complete -" She was about to continue, but then saw the kids on stage near them, "You get what I mean, she wasn't a great friend, or girlfriend to my friend either. She ended up cheating on him with a co-star."

Anna stifled a laugh, "Sounds like you have just as much drama as I do."

Camille nodded in agreement, "Yeah, my life's a bit of a rollercoaster ride. My fiancé's best friends are crazy –mentally and physically."

"So what brought you to a small town? You said you lived in L.A before this, what brings you to Sherwood." The black haired girl asked curiously.

The brunette girl merely shrugged again, "My fiancé. We just moved in a few days ago, half the boxes aren't unpacked either, and he's in medical school –he wanted to be a doctor since he was a kid. And I used to be an actress, so I decided be a director at the theater was a perfect job." She sighed, "And then after the house is unpacked we've got to start planning the wedding, because we agreed we wanted a spring one."

Anna rolled her eyes, "You picked it to be in spring probably and he's just going along with it, that's usually what guys do."

Camille blushed a bit, but nodded, "We'll he's a bit shy. And I used to practice my scenes on him, and a lot of them included slapping…" She trailed off.

"Sounds like you're already married." Anna joked.

Camille laughed at the comment, "Well, I was in love with him since the second I saw him, I just had a funny way of showing it I guess."

Finally she checked her watch, and noticed that it was time to start the auditions. Camille looked up and said, "It was nice to meet you Anna, we'll have to hang out sometime. It's been a long time since I've shopped with a girl and had fun."

Anna smiled back, "Of course, I'll probably be around a lot, I don't have much else to do anyways other than check papers –I'm a teacher." She explained.

Camille went back over to the stage, starting the auditions with the kids.

* * *

At the end of the day, the auditions were finally finished, and Camille told all of the kids who –or what- they'd be playing.

Karlie ran to her mom, jumping over a stray box to keep from falling, sprinting again, "Mommy, guess what part I got?" She asked excitedly.

Just to tease, Anna bent down and pretended to think about it, "Hmmm… a teacup?" She asked.

"No-" Karlie burst out into a smile, "I got the part for Belle! I got the script and everything." Handing her mom the packet that was tucked under her arm, she grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "And little Jonny is playing the Beast, and Caitlyn is playing-" She started going down the list of kids and who they played.

From the other side of the room Anna saw Camille grabbing a box, and she silently mouthed 'thank you', which she got a smile and nod of the head in return.

She started to listen to what Karlie was saying because she tugged on her sleeve, "And Miss Camille is going to find me a pretty yellow dress like the one Belle wears, and you can do my hair all pretty. It's going to be so much fun mommy!" She exclaimed.

Anna smiled back at her little girl, "I bet it is." She looked at her phone for the time, "But as of right now, we need to get home and have some dinner and go to bed –so we can get up early tomorrow and you can look at your script." The little girl squealed, and they quietly left the theater, Anna giving a wave to Camille, having a feeling they'd be good friends.

**Author's Note: The only reason I did the play was for Anna to meet Camille. That will be a big thing in later chapters, and I love the idea I have for the next chapter. Angst/anger = Chapter 4 of Count on You!**

**Don't forget:**

**Review! I'd love more 30, if you could try and do that, please!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This chapter hopefully lives up to expectations, as it was very fun to write-and hopefully will have all of you in shock by the end!**

_Disclaimer: My birthday cake had BTR on it, so I owned them... too bad my brother ate it. So, I guess I don't own them, promise._

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 4:_

A few days passed. Each day, Karlie went in practice for her part of Belle in the play. Since Anna had nothing to do but grade papers, she sat in the seats, watching rehearsals. And a lot of the time she found herself helping Camille with things like adjusting lights, moving the sets, getting costumes.

Camille was the first true friend that Anna had found in six years. She didn't judge by the fact that she was pregnant at sixteen, or that the baby's father had left them. She seemed to be neutral to it, saying, "At least she has you."

Soon, to Karlie, Camille turned into Aunt Camille –or Aunt Cami- which made both of the adult females laugh.

One chilly September day, Anna was grading papers in the theater, watching as the little five and six year old kids ran and danced around the room. Camille blew a whistle, "Kids!" Finally, they all turned back to her, "We have one month to get this show together, and If all you want to do is goof off, we'll have to cancel it, and hurt your parents feelings."

Little Jonny burst into a smile, "We don't have to do the play? Awesome!" He started to run towards the exit, when Karlie grabbed his arm, narrowing her eyes.

"This is supposed to be fun, and you're playing lead!" She exclaimed, "Why would you want to leave if you've gotten the best guy part?"

Little Jonny chortled, "Plays are for _girls_. Only stupid little Jackson would want to try out without his mom making him." He said, pointing and laughing at a skinny kid, with a jet of brown hair and large glasses covering his eyes.

Karlie's best friend, Caitlyn, stood up, crossing her arms, "Leave him alone, at least he has the decency to try new things. And a lot of plays need guy leads –and he deserves it more than you do!" She hissed back, getting into Jonny's face.

Camille stepped over to them, pulling them apart, "Jonny, if you don't want to be in the play, you don't have to, I'll just re-cast the role of the Beast to Jackson." She decided.

Little Jonny growled at the nerdy boy in the corner, "I'm not giving up a place –even if it is in a stupid play- to Four-Eyes." Ever since Jackson started school he had worn glasses, and they were hug. Since then, people had proceeded to call him Four-Eyes.

Camille sighed, "Jonny, be nice. If I hear you call Jackson Four Eyes again you'll be off the play."

Jonny 'hmphed' and walked across the stage to get to the stairs, muttering, "Four Eyes" as he passed the other little boy.

Seeing that practice for the day was over, as the lead boy just left, Camille called, "That'll be it for tonight, don't forget that was have practice tomorrow from 3:00-6:00." She hollered at the kids who had already starting to walk away.

Karlie sat down on one of the seats for one of the sets, and as Camille came back around, she said, "Thanks Aunt Cami. Jonny does that a lot whenever he gets over-worked or is angry." She explained.

Camille smiled at the young girl, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. And if he won't get along, I'll just switch him into being the candle stick."

Both of them laughed as they walked back to Anna, who was too engrossed in grading papers to notice them. Finally, at the same time, Camille and Karlie yelled, "Anna/Mom"

She snapped out of it, and looked at them, "Sorry, this one boy from my class is having issues with math, and I have to write it out for him to understand." She explained weakly, "What'd I miss?"

Karlie immediately said, "Jonny getting all angry."

Anna sighed, "That boy needs to be checked for anger management. I remember the day you had him come to Chucky Cheese's for your birthday and he was screaming at the guy at the prize counter to give him the stuffed tiger." She rolled her eyes.

Camille clapped Karlie on the back, "How about you go and look through the costumes I got for you and see if they look alright." She said, and pointed to a door, "Go to that hallway, first door on the right. It says, 'wardrobe' on it."

Karlie nodded, "You got the yellow dress right?" When the adult nodded back, Karlie went into the back room faster than either could blink.

Camille sat down next to Anna, "How are you able to handle her? She's like a bundle of happiness." She asked, "And she loves to talk about hockey –I've never met a girl, let alone a five year old- that likes hockey."

Anna just shrugged, "I watch it whenever I'm grading papers or cooking, and she started to watch it with me when it's on." _Another thing that she got from Kendall: The love for hockey._ She thought.

"I wanted to ask you something." Camille started, "Well, my fiancé is gonna come here in a few minutes, and he is really worried that I won't make friends –because I usually scare them off. And I'd really like to prove him wrong."

"Camille, I'm your friend, and I promise that no matter how crazy you are I will still be. You're the only person in town that even will mutter a word to me, let alone have a conversation." Anna replied, smiling.

Camille grinned ear to ear, "Yeah!" She hugged the other girl, "I've been waiting for someone to say that since I started acting. The only one that was my fiancé. Now, I've got a girlfriend to hang out with, and In June I'll have a husband." She squealed.

Soon, the back door to the auditorium swung open, and Logan Mitchell walked in. Since Anna was facing the stage, still talking with Camille, she didn't notice him.

He called, "Hey Camille." Soon, the brunette was nearly climbing over the stairs to get to the mystery guy, and trampled him to the ground, kissing him fiercely.

_I see why she's called crazy now._ Anna thought, watching as Camille got up, pulling the man with her. She started to say, "Logan, this is my friend-"

But she was cut off by Logan dumbfounded question, "Anna?" He asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing right.

Anna bit her lip, "Logan?" She asked back. That did make more sense on why a girl from L.A would move here, Logan was from here, and Camille came with since they're engaged. She felt like slapping herself for having not thought about that, _He wanted to be a doctor since he was a kid._ That was a dead giveaway. Why could she not have figured that out?

Camille looked confused, "You two know each other?" She asked, "Well, than this is going to be really awkward, or really fun."

Neither of them responded, and then there was a slapping sound. Anna turned to see a bright red hand print across Logan's face, "She wasn't your girlfriend was she?" Camille asked; her walls on high alert. She didn't want Logan falling for an ex.

Logan shook his head, leaning away so she couldn't slap him, "No, she used to our friend before we left. Her parents died and she lived at the Knight house, and then she started to date Kendall…"

Camille spun back around to her, "You dated Kendall?" She asked, confused.

Anna nodded, looking down wards.

There was a long and awkward silence, and Logan broke it by saying, "What've you been up to lately Anna? I haven't heard from you in a while." He prompted, motioning with his hands for her to elaborate.

She bit her lip, "I was… busy. I've been working at Sherwood Elementary for two years, fifth grade class. And that's about it." She said, swallowing the lump in her throat. Not elaborating on Karlie at all, praying she wouldn't come skipping yelling _"Mommy!"_

Logan nodded awkwardly, "Yeah, I'm going to get my doctors degree." He mumbled back, "You look good, nothing seems to have changed."

Anna tried not to laugh, because _everything _had changed, even her look. Back with the guys, she was very tomboy-ish, and wore a lot of earthy, natural colors, and knee length shorts in the summer. Nowadays, she was much more girly. She used makeup, though only mascara and lips gloss really, and wore skirts sometimes, and high heels. "Neither have you." She said, the weird feeling lingering in the air.

Logan sat down a few seats away from her, "So, are you a volunteer for Camille's play?" He asked.

Anna mentally cursed herself for not thinking up a reason why she was here. "Yeah…" She said warily, "I just help with lighting and stuff, nothing much." She brushed it off, glancing the way that Karlie had disappeared to.

Camille was about to say something, but Anna quickly cover her mouth, "Can I talk to you alone for a second?" She asked, not waiting for the answer, and dragging her away.

Once Logan couldn't hear them, Anna released her hand from the brunette girl's mouth. Camille took a long breath, "What was that for? I was just going to tell him about Karlie –I mean, he must have known her before they left." She said.

Anna shook her head, "I was only like two weeks pregnant when they left, and none of them knew. And bursting out that I had a baby wasn't going to help the tension."

Camille nodded, starting to walk back again, and then turned to Anna, "And you're sure that you and Logan didn't date?" She asked suspiciously.

Anna snorted, "Sorry, but I'm pretty sure you're the _only _girl that he's dated. He and Carlos never were ladies-men." She commented, walking back with her.

"Good, then we'll be really good friends." Camille remarked, and smiled sweetly.

"You got it."

Once they reached Logan, he asked, "What was that about?" His brown eyes looking around to the spot they had gone to talk at.

Anna smiled, "Nothing, just telling her a little bit about how we met and stuff." She lied. Unlike the guys, she could lie very convincingly, and even Logan couldn't see through it this time.

He nodded, "So, I haven't seen you in a while. Do you still go to that old park you did with Kendall when you dated?" He asked, though it was a simple question, she seemed stuck for an answer, memories from a week before came crawling back;

"_I used to think you were a better person than that." _

"_I used to think that you were forgiving."_

"_I only forgave people because they deserved it, and you –Kendall- don't." _

"_What did I do?"_

"_For one, you broke up with me in a phone call. And two, during that phone call I was going to tell you-" _

"_You were going to tell me what?"_

Snapping from her trance, Anna lowly replied, "No, not any longer."

He nodded again, deep in thought, "What about the river we used to skip stones in –the one behind your parents old house." He asked, trying to get to a topic that he knew.

Again, she shook her head, "No, I don't do a lot of the stuff that we did before now a days… I did move into my parents' house though after you left." Anna said, the small talk not really feeling very comfortable to either of them. "Seeing as my Aunt… left for business I needed a place to stay, and since the Knight's moved, that was the only available place that I could live." She lied.

The break in silence was caused by a loud wail of excitement, and Anna's eyes bulged out of her head. _Don't come in, don't come in Karlie._ She chanted to herself, crossing her fingers both mentally and physically.

But, just as she was silently chanting, the little five year old girl, with her wavy hair flying back as she ran. "Mommy!" She called out, reaching Anna, "Look at how pretty the Belle dress is." She spun around, letting the yellow fabric twirl.

Logan was standing there in shock, and Anna quickly said to Karlie, "Go find the matching shoes."

Once she turned back to Logan, she saw his eyes were large and dilated his breaths shallow, "You have a daughter?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Anna's body seemed numb. What should she do? Trust Logan and tell him, and he hopefully will wait and let her to decide to tell Kendall. Or don't trust him, and if he asked, say nothing. Logan asked, "What's her name?"

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, "Karlie Ann." She whispered.

Logan's logic kicked in, "She has to be around five, right?" Anna nodded, "And you're twenty two. That means that you were pregnant right before, or right after we left." He determined. "Where's the father?" He asked.

Anna sighed, "He left."

"Why would he do that?"

She shrugged, "It was before he ever knew, and he was doing what he needed to do. His family moved far away, and I haven't heard from him since then." She lied.

Logan turned to Camille, "Why don't you go and check on… Karlie?" Anna nodded, "I need to ask her something kind of personal."

Camille nodded, slapping him one more time, and kissing his lips once more before starting down the aisles to find the little girl.

Logan looked back to her, "Now can you tell who her father is? Honestly?"

Anna shook her head, "I'm sorry Logan, but no, I can't. That's something that only I know." She said, looking down.

"Please, I can help you." Logan started, "We used to tell each other everything."

Anna smiled a bit at memories, but that turned into a frown soon, "That was back when we were all friends Logan. Now, it's only you, Carlos, James and… him." She mumbled.

He noticed how she refused to say the word _Kendall._ "You're mad at him, aren't you?"

She quirked an eyebrow, "I poured my heart and soul into him, and all he did was throw them into the wind." Anna started to get up, "I was happier without him coming back."

Logan blocked her way, "But you can still be my friend –Carlos and James' friends- right?" He asked, "We didn't do anything to hurt you." He said, placing a hand onto Anna's arm.

She brushed it off, "Actually, Logan, all of you hurt me. You left me, you forgot about me, and when you knew _he_ was going to break up with me, you didn't do anything I bet. I wasn't anything to any of you was I?"

He fumbled to stop her from leaving, "That's not true, we all care about you, and I bet Kendall does too even. We didn't mean to forget about you, to leave you." He took a breath, "We were making James' dream come true, and we promised each other we would help our friends first."

Anna looked him in the eyes, "Then why did all you do was let me down. I was happy James got to live his dream; that you guys got to become famous. But all I relied on were those texts, those emails. And soon, none of them came. My inbox was empty, I would check _every day_ just to see if anyone would remember me. But you didn't. All of you found new friends, you left me in the middle of the street to be hit. And none of you tried to save me."

Logan stood speechless, "We never _forgot _you; we just didn't have time to email or call. We wanted to but we were either recording or on tour, and either way we had no internet signal."

"Mail a letter?"

His face fell, "That's not the point. And -I should have thought of that… the point is; whose daughter is that?"

Anna shifted to the side, and replied, "Mine."

Logan narrowed his eyes, "I mean, who's the father."

"She doesn't have a father."

"The only way to have a baby is-" Anna cut him off.

"A father is someone who is around, who takes care of you. Karlie, she has no father, she doesn't have a dad to lean on and play with. She's only got me, alright?" She asked, slightly aggravated.

Logan held his hands up in defeat, "I just wanted to help. I mean, I could help you tell him about it if you want."

"Logan, I'm not sure if I'll ever tell him, because of how much he did to me before that. It'll be a mystery for as long as I can keep it that way." Anna responded.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't you need help taking care of her, like when you're at work, or grocery shopping. If this guy knew, he may help."

"That's the problem!" Anna exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air, "I can't take the risk that he _may _help. I can't let him into Karlie's life, and not be sure that he'll stay there."

"Then me and Camille can help, the worst you could do is try." He said.

Anna huffed, "Again, I'm not bringing him in, because once you're in, you can't get out. Karlie would never stop asking for her dad if he came. She already asked if her dad was near to take her to Father Daughter day at her school. I had to lie to her, trying not to make her cry!" She exclaimed, tears falling.

Logan reached over and hugged her, "Tell me, I won't tell a soul, I swear."

She sniffled, and mumbled something. He couldn't hear, but then she mumbled it again, "Kendall."

His mouth flew open in shock, and she whipped the tears away, before running away from him, not believing she had just given her biggest secret to someone she may or may not trust.

Love is hard, love is difficult. This is just another bump on the road of life. But, sometimes bumps give you flat tires, and you've got to go back from step one. And we'll see how far they'll get, before we hit that bump again, and start the process over.

**Author's Note: Told you there was a point to having the play/Camille! That was so much fun! Orriginally it was Carlos -as I used Logan as a best friend all the time with my other two stories- but I thought Logan could try and keep the secret better, plus, he's got a reason to be there. (And, knowing Carlos, he'd go and tell Kendall that day.)**

**-I added a poll to my profile, asking what story I should focus on more, this or the one-shots. A few of you have voted, and go ahead and vote if you haven't. You can leave it in the review if you want, and I'll tally them both up in a week{January 14th}, and tell you the winner. (PS: I've gotten really into this story, the reason why the updates are so frequent. But me and my sister have doctor appointments coming up, meaning I wont have a lot of time to update. That's the reason for the poll.) So, just go vote, or tell in a review if you'd rather Kenna or Kella! (I'm not really creative with the couple names am I?)**

**Next chapter is going to be very angsty, as I intend to add a little special thing to it. And, we'll see Kendall again, as I know there hasn't been too much Kendall/Anna action. **

**Can we make the review count read over 40? It'd make me really happy!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: So, I promised I'd bring Kendall back and let them have another appearance together, and I didn't lie! Yes, this chapter will include Kendall. Plus, something a little different too... a flashback! I thought it would be fun to show a little bit of their past. I'll probably be adding some more flashbacks later on too, to put puzzle pieces together.**

_Dicslaimer: I have a BTR T-shirt, yeah, that's really it. No Big Time Rush, they belong to Nickelodeon._

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 5:_

Why did she tell Logan? He was Kendall's best friend, there was no way he wouldn't blurt it out to him. Anna felt like burying her face into the steering wheel as she drove around town a week later. Of course, he probably told Camille, seeing as she was his fiancée, and then next would be Carlos, James and… Kendall. Why did she have to be so stupid?

Something about Logan saying he wouldn't tell anyone made her feel like she could trust him. She hadn't told anyone the father, and then Logan walks in and she blurts it out to him, before running away. Maybe it was something about how they used to be great friends.

She had been closest to Kendall, even before they had started dating, but after that she trusted Logan the most. He could keep a secret to himself for the rest of his life, no matter the circumstances. Carlos was fun to hang out with, and a great friend, but he was terrible at keeping secrets. James was too absorbed with himself to care enough to listen to the secret, unless it was big gossip, but then he would pass it on to his friends.

At least she had told him, and not the others. Logan would keep it a secret more likely than them. He would crack though if Kendall asked him about it. He wasn't a good liar, another thing that worried Anna. The only problem was that she couldn't talk to him about it. She didn't have a phone number to call, a house number, so she could come over. She knew nothing about him really.

Soon, she found herself at the skating rink, the biggest attraction that Sherwood had, though only a few kids and their parents visited it.

Anna cut the ignition, and started into the rink. The only two places that she was able to think at since the guys left were the park, and the rink. Seeing as when she went to the park now, memories of Kendall flooded her head, she needed to try something else.

What Anna didn't realize was how stupid she was for going to the rink.

Walking inside, she looked at the large oval of ice. Seeing a group of four boys, and one girl made her smile, old faded memories coming back to her, as she watched the group of seven year old kids skate around, laughing as the girl fell down:

"_Come on Anna!" James yelled, while Carlos tried to tug the seven year old girl onto the ice._

_Anna, so stubborn, shook her head violently, "No way. I like watching you guys play hockey, but I only fall when I get onto the ice. You guys can play a game, while I watch." She tried to bargain, being surprisingly convincing for just a seven year old. "Please!"_

_Logan, who usually would side with her, started to pull her onto the ice, along with Carlos, "Come on Anna, hockey is really fun._ I_ wouldn't let you do anything dangerous." _

_Kendall skated over, "Come on Belle, you can hold my hand for support, I won't let you fall." He promised, holding his hand out. Only Kendall had ever called her Belle, it was his own special name for her._

_Slowly, Anna stepped out onto the ice, grabbing Kendall's hand, and whispered weakly, "Please don't let me fall."_

_The blonde just smiled, "You'll be fine, I'll keep you safe." He smiled, showing off the dimples that made him cute, even if he was only seven._

_James and Carlos interrupted them, "Come on, we'll race you around the rink!" They yelled, taking off, stakes gliding against the ice smoothly._

_Logan rolled his eyes, "I need new friends." He said, like he always did when they did stupid things. On cue, Carlos slammed into the glass wall of the rink; lucky for them he always wore his helmet._

_Kendall tugged Anna's hand, moving them forward, "Come on, it's really fun." He said._

_Looking at the black haired girls face, he saw the fear that flashed across her innocent face, "Kendall, I'm scared." She whimpered, holding his hand tighter. "Please."_

_He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb to calm her down, "Come on Anna, you trust me right?" He asked, faking to be hurt as he slowly pulled her farther into the rink._

_Anna nodded, her brown eyes wide, "Yeah, but I don't like the ice. It's slippy and I fell last time."_

_The blonde boy looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "You weren't afraid last time, why are you now?" He asked, skating them in a small circle as she held his hand tighter._

_She looked down, "I fell last time, I don't like falling Kendall."_

_Kendall smiled at her, "We all don't like to fall Belle. I remember back when my dad took me here for my first time on the ice. I fell down a bunch of times, and I never wanted to come back. But after a while, and with some help, I stopped falling, and now I love the ice."_

_Anna seemed to calm down a bit, knowing that Kendall had fallen down before, and learned to stop, "But what happens if I hurt myself falling?" She whispered as he glided them across the ice._

_He gave her a reassuring smile, "You won't," She gave him a look, "Because if you even slip, I'll catch you, I promise. You won't get hurt."_

_She finally started to move her feet, shuffling against the ice, and Kendall guided her around the rink, as Logan was practicing making shots with a puck into the net, and Carlos and James still zooming around them._

_Kendall started to let go of her hand, and she squealed in fright, and grabbed his hand again, "Kendall? What are you doing?" _

_He pulled her finger's away from his, "Letting you try it on your own. I promise, I'll be right behind you Anna, you won't hit the ice. Pinky promise." He said, holding out his pinky._

_Slowly, the black haired girl reached out and intertwined her pinky with his, "Please don't let me fall." She repeated._

_Kendall slowly pushed her forward, letting her shuffle her feet a little bit and getting used to being on her own. Slowly, she made a small circle around the rink, Kendall following her._

_But soon, Carlos was speeding around the rink, weaving past Kendall and Anna. Only problem was that he caught the already paranoid girl by surprise, and she slipped her footing, _

_Kendall Knight would never break a promise, even a pinky promise. He was right behind her, not surprised as Carlos skated quickly past them. He grabbed Anna's arm as she almost fell, holding onto her, using his other hand to grab hers and pull her up before she hit the ice._

_Anna's eyes were shut tight, just waiting for the hard impact of the ice on her back and butt. But she never felt it, slowly opening her eyes, Anna saw big green eyes looking at her._

"_You alright?" Kendall asked, steadying her onto her feet._

_She nodded, in awe, "You caught me." She whispered, surprised._

_He smiled, "I promised you wouldn't fall, and I'm keeping my promise." He then added, "Plus, if you got hurt, who would keep us from doing crazy things our parents would yell at us for?"_

_Anna replied sarcastically, "Logan."_

_He sighed, and both of them started back onto the ice, following the other three boys as they skated around._

Since that day, Anna had always trusted Kendall more than the others. Carlos was a ball of energy, and thought of her as one of the guys, not being careful around her. Logan was the opposite, treating her like a china doll. James treated her like Carlos, just not quite as extreme. Kendall was the only one that treated her like a regular person, not too extreme and not too careful.

Looking at the group of kids skating around the ice, laughing, she smiled. "Life was so much easier back then."

An adult figure slid across the ice, helping the girl up, and then announced, "Alright guys, we'll start hockey training tomorrow." The four boys perked up, while the girl hurried off the ice.

Finally, it was just the one adult figure in the middle of the ice, hockey stick and hand. He turned around, his face finally facing Anna's, and she made a bolt for the door.

"Anna." Kendall mumbled, sliding to the edge of the ice, "Wait a minute."

She turned around, the reason why –even she didn't know. "Kendall." She greeted.

He looked at her for a minute, "What are you doing here? You never liked to skate." He said, and the dreadful small talk returned.

"I like to watch the kids play hockey." She replied, not really looking at him.

He nodded, "Yeah, you liked to watch James, Logan, Carlos and I play a lot before."

Anna merely hummed in response, desperately wanting to get out of the room.

Suddenly, Kendall blurted out, "I was talking with Logan the other day. He mentioned you…" He trailed off, and Anna's heart sunk to the floor.

Worst part wasn't that she had put the trust into the wrong person; it was that _she _hadn't told him herself. If he had to find out, she should have been the one to say it, not getting it second hand from Logan.

Anna gulped down her fears, "What did he say?" She asked, her voice strained. She was already on edge the second she noticed that Kendall was the new hockey coach, now she was tipping over the edge, ready to fall.

"He said that you were helping work on Camille's play." Kendall finished, and there was an audible sigh of relief that came from Anna. He was still in the dark, Logan didn't tell him.

She nodded, "Yeah, I only work a block away, and Camille's really fun to hang out with." She said, trying to cover up the relief in her voice.

Kendall adjusted the beanie on his head awkwardly, "So, what were you saying in the park? About telling me something…" He prompted, still looking down at his skates.

Anna decided the best thing to do was play dumb, "I said that I didn't want to talk to you?" She guessed, trying to make it look convincible.

He just shook his head, "No, from when I called and broke up with you. You said that you were going to tell me something, and I just need to know what –it's killing me."

A few ideas passed through the dark haired girls mind, and she replied, "I was going to tell you I loved you." She blurted out, that being the first thing that came to mind.

Kendall crossed his arms, "We had said that a bunch of times before that, it couldn't have been that important."

An idea struck her, and Anna pretended to hold her hands up in defeat, "You're right, I'm lying. I was going to tell you that I had saved enough money to visit you guys in Cali for the week." She said, with just enough innocence for him to believe her.

He scrunched his face, "That's it? I thought it would be something really big…" He prompted, trying to pull out more information from Anna.

Whether she was seven or twenty two, Anna was very stubborn, "To me, that was big. I would have been able to see you guys again, and it wouldn't seem like it was just a dream. I would have seen you." She added, trying to convince him. "But then you decided to go the opposite way." She mumbled.

Kendall threw his hands up, "I'm sorry that I broke up with you by a phone call, but stop referring to it every time we meet! I already feel guilty enough; you don't have to make it worse by just shoving it down my throat every ten seconds." He snapped, getting in Anna's face.

She pushed against his chest, making him stumbled back, "You wanted to know what I was going to say, well, there it is. I was going to say I loved you and I was coming to visit." She took a deep breath, "So stop bringing it up and I won't bring up anything about our relationship all those years ago."

Kendall raised his eyebrows, and held his hand out, "Deal?"

Anna nodded, but slowly grabbed his hand, shaking it lightly before pulling away. Why did she still feel that jolt of electricity when she felt him? He broke her heart, and then broke the pieces into dust. How much more pain would he cause before that would go away.

Kendall seemed to notice the spark when they touched, pulling away. He was over Anna. He wasn't going to pin on her, he would do what she did; forget about him. He'd experienced heart break, especially when Jo had cheated on him with Jett Stetson. For a moment he wondered if he'd caused Anna that much pain, the agonizing pain in your heart of losing the one you love.

He sat down on the bench, and started to unlace his skates. Anna stood there, just watching. She quietly asked, "So you're the new hockey coach?"

Kendall nodded, "Mr. Balton got too old to still play hockey, and since I was the star player back in high school they let me have the job." He then added, "It's fun to teach the kids, it's like when my dad first taught me to play hockey."

Anna nodded, going along with his story, "I remember when you guys pulled me out onto the ice when I was seven. I'd only been on it once, and I fell. You held my hand and promised you wouldn't let me fall down like I had before." She recalled.

He smiled, "And then you clung to my arm when I tried to let you skate on your own. Finally you started skating, but Carlos ran into you and you fell-"

"-but you caught me." Anna finished for him. "Sometimes I wish that we'd never grown up. That' we'd still be little, still be simple." _That's all I want for Karlie too, is for her to never grow up._

He frowned, "And then all the drama came in, we dated, then I moved away."

Anna could remember everything perfectly, them leaving, her and Kendall's final goodbyes:

_Mrs. Knight, Katie, James, Carlos and Logan sat in their seats, waiting for their flight number to be called. Kendall and Anna were a little ways away, so they couldn't hear the silent conversation:_

"_Kendall, I wish you weren't leaving." Anna whimpered, leaning into his warn embrace, "You're the only thing I have left."_

_Kendall leaned her head up, making her look into his beautiful green eyes, "I won't be gone forever Anna. I'll come back and visit, and after a few years we'll move back and I can see your beautiful face again." He said, placing a kiss on her nose._

_Anna shook her head, "I'm not beautiful Kendall."_

_He made her look into his eyes again, "Well, then you just don't see what I see. I see an amazing girlfriend, that's sweet, loving, and cares more about everyone else than herself."_

_She looked down, whipping the tears away, "You're just saying that." She mumbled into his chest._

_Kendall kissed her head, "No I'm not. There's nothing about you that I'd change, ever. You're amazing just the way you are Anna."_

_Slowly, Anna looked up, and their lips connecting for the last time. Leaning her head against Kendall's, she said, "I love you Kendall, so much it hurts to let you go." A tears falling from her eyes._

_He took his finger, capturing the tears and brushing them away, "I love you too Anna, I promise, we'll get through this."_

_She half cried and half laughed, "What about all those California girls?"_

_Kendall cupped her tear streaked face in his hands, "No matter how many girls thrown themselves that me, I'll always love you more than all of them combined."_

_Anna sighed, "I'll miss you Kenny."_

_He smiled at the old nickname, "I'll miss you too Belle." Only Kendall was the one who would call her Belle, it was his own unique nickname for her._

"_Flight 34 to Los Angela's is now boarding!" The speakers around them announced, making more tears fall from Anna's eyes. This was there last goodbye._

_Kendall leaned down, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, muffling into it, "I love you so much, I wish you didn't have to leave."_

_He hugged her back, "Me neither, but I need to help James' dream come true." He pulled away, "I'll come back here, I promise. Once our chance at fame is over, I'll move back and the first place I'll be is your door."_

_As the couple pulled apart, the last warning for their flight went off. Anna watched as Kendall walked down the aisle, and finally disappeared from view. The last thing that she saw was a tear falling from the blonde boy's eyes as he gave her one last look. Then he was gone._

Maybe Kendall meant that at the time, but he had lied. They didn't make it through; he didn't come and visit in-between tour. And he wasn't waiting at her door when he moved back; he had just bumped into her. He had crushed their love; Kendall had broken so many promises that he wished so badly he could have kept. But wishing won't work as well as reality.

Anna nodded sadly, "Yeah, _that_."

Kendall finally asked the question that had been burning in his mind for days, "Why are you ignoring me? If I see you on the street, you go the other way, when I wave, you just turn away. This is the most we've spoken in the three weeks I've been back." He made a small huff, "You still hate me."

Anna's face finally showed the slightest signs of a smile, "There's such a thin line between love and hate Kendall. You can never tell which side you're on until you see the person that you loved. But first, you have to figure out if it was really love, or just lust." She said mysteriously.

Kendall seemed caught off guard by her deep words, but then asked, "Which side of the line are you on?"

She picked up her things, "Right now, I'm walking on a tight rope, trying to keep my balance from falling." Soon, she had gathered her things, and was walking out the door.

Kendall stood there, dumb-struck. Anna seemed to be calm and collected today, but he could tell that she wasn't telling the complete truth. He didn't know what she was lying about, but he could tell that there was something he was missing.

And he wouldn't give up till he knew that secret. The only hard part would be getting Anna to spill out her secrets for him, while she currently wasn't too fond of him.

Was it really love that Anna and Kendall shared all those years ago, or was it just lust?

**Author's Note: I _loved_ writting flashbacks, because it shows the innocence of them being kids in one of the flashbacks, and the love that Kendall and Anna had before. It shows more peices of life was like before the guys were famous, and before Anna was so guarded. Yes, Anna is very guarded now, and she's only let her wall down once, telling Logan. But remember, her parents died when she was only 13, and then the love of her life left her when she was carrying his child. Who wouldn't be gaurded? And you'll see more of her protection over herself and Karlie later on.**

**-I'll be putting either Carlos or James in soon. But both of them will be in the story. Because Logan seems to be getting the spotlight along with Kendall.**

**-{This isn't about the story.} I'm having a hard time getting on fanfiction, as it makes you take a survey to get on -so it can stay free. Anyone else having any troubles with this? I already have had a few people complain about it, asking for me to send the chapters to them so they can still read. You can still get on, but it takes alot more time, and effort. Am I the only one that is irritated at this and want it to go back to normal? Or do you guys not have this problem? Just asking...**

**-Two more days for my pole on which story I will update more often. Please go vote if you havent, and if you want to vote twice, go ahead and do that. All votes will be counted, along with review-votes.**

**Just review, I want around 5-8, as that's the usual review count. Over ten would make me really happy, and help me update! If I got the review count over 50, I would be so happy (As that would be 50 reviews for 5 chapters... and the Prolouge if you count that too), then I'll be personally thanking everyone for their reviews. (And I will have a nice angsty chapter up next... hopefully)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Well, this update is really sketchy. I like to have chapters written and edit them while writting the next one out, so if I fall behind on writting I can still update. But, since I was so happy I got to 50 reviews, I posted this chapter.**

**-Special notice to **_Zyrillose_ **because she noticed the song refrances in the last chapter: **'Just the Way You Are' by Bruno Mars, and 'California Gurls' by Katy Perry.** While I write I tend to have music playing in the backround for some inspiration, and those two songs happened to pop up. I will probably have song lyrics {or names} in chapters, and cudos to those who find them. But they wont pop up every chapter.**

**And lastly, here is the sixth chapter.**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 6:_

After a few more days, Anna got more and more desperate to see Logan and make sure that he would keep her secret. She knew a few things about him, which may point to where to find him. Seeing as Camille worked at the theater that was choice number one, but he was never there. She checked the local medical school, but it seemed that Logan was never there either when she went after and before work.

Only a few days after her run in with Kendall at the theater did she ever think the obvious fact. _Four new houses were just build, he's got to live in one of them._

Having her neibor baby-sit Karlie, she started down the road. The only flaw in her plan was that there were _four _houses. If she accidentally chose the wrong house, what would she say to them? That she was looking for Logan? That would only lead to questions.

Turning onto Maple Street, she drove to the end of the street, parking her car. Four brand new houses stood there, and she studied them, trying to determine which house was for which boy.

Looking at the first one, she noticed it was probably a bit smaller than the others. It had brown paneling, and looked to be two stories. She saw something waving in the wind, and peered against the glass of the car window to see it. It was a flag, with green and red around the edges, and a picture of Minnesota in the middle, and read, "_State of Hockey._" That one was positively Kendall's house, and she wasn't going there.

The next house that she noticed was a very modern looking house, the backside of it being all windows. Anna rolled her eyes, James' house. Only that pretty boy would own that house.

She looked at the two middle houses, one brick, one with some stone and wood. After quite a bit of choosing between the houses, she finally got out of the car.

Anna pulled her knit beanie over her head, as the end of September came, the winds got stronger, and the temperature got colder. Putting her keys and hands into her pockets, she stepped out. She was wearing some black boots, with jeans tucked in them, and a hockey sweat shirt from the first hockey game she took Karlie to.

Heading towards one of the houses, she followed the driveway up to the house. Slowly, she climbed the stairs, and took a deep breath. "Maybe this was stupid." She muttered to herself, "What if Camille answers the door? Then she'll be asking a bunch of questions about why I'm here…" She trailed off, worrying.

Leaning back, she cupped her hands around her head, and sighed in frustration.

Just then did she hear the faint sound of a doorbell, and twirled around, nearly hitting her head on the wall, and saw the doorbell. "I'm in so much trouble." She moaned, quickly trying to rearrange her features. Somehow, with her dumb luck, she had leaned _right _on the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door opened and a familiar voice said, "Logan, I'm not listening to your stupid lecture about medical school."

Slowly, Anna felt everything drop into her stomach. Carlos Garcia was standing at the door, apparently expecting Logan to come over. She muttered under her breath, "I should have gone with my gut and chose the brick house." Anna mentally slapped herself.

Carlos blinked a few times, and rubbed his eyes, "Anna Banana?" He asked. She nodded her head slowly, and he lept forward, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. "You look the same as ever!"

She rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he couldn't honestly believe that. "You look good too Carlos." She replied, and in honest opinion, he looked nearly the exact same. Wearing his usual sweatshirt, jeans, and socks –well, he wore sneakers out, but socks in the house.

The Latino beamed at her, "I knew you would come and visit me!" He yelped in happiness, finally letting go of her, allowing Anna to catch her breath.

Carlos was always the most sensitive of the group, because he was always a child in his mind. Anna remembered when she was nine and sick with the flu, and Carlos cried because she couldn't attend Sparky's, his fish's, funeral. What would she say now to him? That she meant to go to Logan's house, just to get answers. But the innocent and happy look on Carlos's face made her lie to please him.

Anna forced a smile, hoping that it was convincing, "Yeah, I guess I just missed you guys." In truth, she wouldn't have wanted to visit any of them after they forgot about her.

He pulled her inside, "Come on in, its cold outside." He said, while dragging her into a nice living room. It had a lot of video games, various game consoles, and a large flat screen TV.

She sat down in one of the chairs, while Carlos leaned into the couch. There was a long, awkward silence before he broke it. "So, what do you do now?"

Anna tried to remember that it wasn't Carlos's fault that they had left. Keeping her conflicting feelings to herself, she replied warily, "I teach, at the elementary school."

The tension in the room was very thick, though not half as when she had her encounters with Kendall. Carlos nodded, "You always liked kids. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a kid already."

Anna's eyes immediately shot open, and she looked to the floor, not wanting to face this. Logan _must _have told Carlos; why else would he say that?

Carlos started laughing at her reaction, "You look like something is wrong. What'd I do? Was it about having a kid?" He patted her hand, "I was just kidding with you Anna."

She faked another smile, and a laugh, "Yeah, sorry. I was… thinking." She covered up.

Usually Carlos wasn't that observant, but he suddenly asked, "Hey, what's bothering you? You seem really, un-Anna like."

Anna tensed a bit, and she felt that wall building up inside her. The wall that had protected her since the guys left, since Karlie was born. She hadn't let anyone in –though few people had dared to try. The only time that she had let her walls down was talking to Logan a week ago, and she had spent time building them back up.

She never realized how little she told people. After her parents' death, for nearly a month she didn't speak to anyone. Anna remembered the nightmares, and it got so bad that she screamed in her sleep. How Kendall would come in and sing her to sleep, like he did with Katie.

The Knight family, Logan, Carlos and James were the only people that she let that wall down for. And when they left, it was like losing her parents all over again. Except she didn't have anyone to lean on for support. The walls quickly built back up again, and stayed that way.

Snapping from her trance, she looked at Carlos, "Nothing, I'm just a little on edge."

He asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

Anna shook her head, "No. I need to go and talk to someone anyways." She gave him one last forced smile, "It was good to see you again."

He smiled, "Yeah, maybe all of us could hang out like old times."

She hummed in response, and started to get up. Carlos walked her to the door, and then she headed across the lawn to the brick house, after making sure that he wasn't watching her.

Ringing the doorbell, Anna fiddled with her thumbs, contemplating what she would say. She still had this feeling in her gut that Logan had told Carlos –that Logan had told someone. Even someone as secluded as him would need someone to be able to talk about that with. That wasn't a small little secret –like who she liked in middle school- it was who the father of her baby.

After a few minutes, the door opened. Anna felt her face drop a bit when she saw Camille. Camille seemed surprised, "Anna? Hey, what are you doing here?"

She took a deep breath, "I really need to talk with Logan." She saw a look go across the other girl's face, "I just need to talk with him, nothing else." She promised.

Camille gave her a questionable look, but opened the door wider to let her in. When Anna crossed the threshold, the brunette girl held out her arm, efficiently blocking her.

"Anna, your my friend, so I'm not going to get mad at you for this. But you have a past with Logan –a past that I wasn't there for, and don't know about. I just need to know that you and Logan had _nothing _going on."

Anna nodded, having a feeling it would come to this. "Nothing, I promise."

Camille swayed a bit, "I only have one more question, is Karlie his daughter?"

Anna couldn't hold in the shock at the fact Camille thought Logan –never taken a sex ed class _Logan_- was a father. She laughed a little, "Camille, Logan is far from being the father of my baby. Plus, according to Mendel's second law of genetics, traits are passed from generation to generation. For example, Karlie has my hair. But, her eyes are green, I've got brown eyes and so does Logan. There is no scientific way that she could be his child." She determined, remembering it only because Logan said it so many times to them when they were in middle school, so it was implanted in her brain.

Finally, Camille seemed pleased with the answer, and moved her arm, letting her through the doorway. "He's in his study. Upstairs and it's the second door on the left." She said, smiling at the fact that Logan was hers, and only hers. "I'll go to the store, be back in an hour. That should be long enough for you guys to talk things through."

Anna stepped inside the house, it was quaint. Some decorative paintings on the wall, and a large living room. You could tell the blend between the two people who lived there by looking around. She gulped as Camille grabbed her jacket and waved goodbye.

Slowly, she made her way up to Logan's study. Standing at the two double doors, she hesitated, before knocking, taking a step backwards.

There was a faint, "Come on in!" From on the other side of the doors.

Anna hesitantly put a hand on the cool doorknob, before pushing it down, and opening the door. The room was large and circular. It had a large window that had a view of the backyard, and large wooden bookshelves lined the walls, books placed carefully inside of them. A couch against the window, and a few seats in between the bookcases. In the middle of the room was a large wooden desk, papers piled high, and a light on the other side. Anna could see Logan's head dipped down, reading something from a large book.

She cautiously asked, "Logan?"

The dark haired boy looked up and his eyebrows scrunched together, closing his book, "Anna?" She smiled weakly, "What are you doing here?"

Anna took a deep breath to steady herself, and then replied, "I need to talk to you… about my… _secret_." She hesitantly tried to say.

Logan gulped, and got up from his desk, gesturing for her to sit down on the couch. Once he sat in one of the chairs, he warily responded, "What about _that?_"

She bit her lip, "I don't want _him-_" She paused, then gathered the courage to say, "I don't want Kendall to know. I didn't know how to talk to you about it, because you weren't at the theater or the medical school when I looked." She took a deep breath.

"So I finally realized that you had to live in one of the four new houses. I saw that the one at the end of the street had a hockey flag, so I knew that was Kendall's. And the one at the opposite end was very modern, and it was obvious that it was James. Then I couldn't tell between which was yours and Carlos'. I ended up going to his house first." Anna started, "I couldn't just leave, because he'd be hurt. But then he said something…"

Logan titled his head to the side, "What?"

She sighed, "He asked what I did now, and I told him I was a teacher." Looking at Logan she finished, "Then he said, '_You always liked kids. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a kid already_.' You told him!" She said, burying her face into her hands. "Now he'll tell James and then Kendall will know!"

Logan pat her shoulder, "Anna, look up," She complied, her face a mixture of emotions, "I didn't tell him. He was probably just joking with you. I haven't said a word to anyone. I haven't even told Camille –and I promised that I wouldn't ever keep secrets from her!"

Anna looked at him, seeing the genuine look in his eyes, knowing that he wasn't lying. "What do I do Logan? Do I tell Kendall and risk him leaving, or do I keep it a secret?"

The smart boy replied wisely, "You should do what your heart tells you to."

She huffed, leaning her head back, "That's the problem though. My heart is telling me one thing, and my head is telling me something else. And I don't want to pick the wrong answer, and then have to face the consequences." Anna felt a tear fall down her face, "I want the best for Karlie, I don't want her to end up like me. I want her to grow up healthy and learn her own things. But she shouldn't make the mistake of being blinded by love like I did. And I'm worried that will happen."

Logan gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "Anna, what is your heart telling you to do? Honestly?" He prompted lightly.

Anna whipped the tears away, "My head is telling me not to tell him, because I'm afraid. But my heart is telling me that I should tell him."

He gave her a weak smile, "Kendall wouldn't turn her down though." Anna looked up, confused, "The one thing that means most to Kendall is his family and friends. He wouldn't leave his own daughter. I'm sure if we knew before we left to become famous, he would have stayed with you and taken care of Karlie." He reassured.

She smiled; it was a sad smile, but still a smile. "I used to think that. If I had found out earlier and told him, if he would have stayed. But that's in the past Logan, it can't be changed. What's done is done. He did leave; all of you had to leave."

Logan looked down, "Anna, you trusted him before. I remember that at one point he was the only person you trusted. When your parents died, you would only talk to him, because you trusted him. What happened to that trust?"

Anna closed her eyes for a moment, trying to keep old memories from coming back. "That trust left when you did. He promised me he wouldn't forget about me, and he would come and visit. And then he just broke those promises, along with my heart."

He frowned, "I know Kendall, and he would help you. He may have been gone for six years, but he's the same Kendall, I promise Anna. He wouldn't turn you down."

She felt more tears coming out of her eyes, "That's another thing that I worry about. If he knew, then Karlie would be forced to split houses, spend separate times with him and me. I can't just get over everything that he did, as hard as I try. And that would affect Karlie."

Logan stood up and hugged her tightly, "Anna, you need to make the decision, not me. Tell Kendall if that is what seems right, or ignore him. Keep Karlie's interests in mind though. Think of what you went through when you lost your parents. She feels that, she lost her dad before she even got to meet him."

Anna pulled away, and sat back on the couch, "Kendall is so complicated that I'm not sure what to do. I'd only make it worse if I introduced her, and then he leaves us behind. Then she'd remember him as the dad that left her, which is much worse."

* * *

Neither of them heard as Camille came into the house and walked upstairs to see her fiancé.

Once she reached the door, Camille heard Logan say, "Tell him, he'll help. I promise Anna. If I know him half as well as I think than he won't leave you and Karlie."

Regular people may have been embarrassed or feel wrong for eavesdropping, but Camille didn't mind. She pressed her ear closer to the door, waiting for a response.

Finally, Anna whispered, "He's changed. I don't know if I can trust him. He's not the guy I was in love with, he's not _Kendall._"

Mouth falling open, Camille slipped forward, the ajar door flying open and revealing her presence. Anna looked horrified, and Logan was in pure shock. "Camille?" He asked, helping her up.

From the background, Anna asked, "How much did you hear?"

Camille was never nervous about anything. But she seemed to get sweaty palms as she mumbled, "Kendall?"

Neither of the others heard, and Anna repeated, "How much did you hear Camille?"

Finally, the girl stopped biting her lip, "Kendall. Karlie's father is Kendall." She turned to Logan, her eyes pleading, "Don't tell me that it's the Kendall I know."

Anna was the one to respond, her walls crumbling down. "It was Kendall Knight alright! We were stupid, I thought I loved him. Then he left, that's the story." She deadpanned.

Camille stared at her, "Kendall?"

Anna nodded, "Like I said, I was blinded by what I thought was love." She grabbed her coat, "I know better now."

Logan gave her a look, which she returned back to him. Finally, she spoke up, "Thanks for letting me come over, you have a beautiful home. I have to go pick up Karlie."

Finally, Logan called, "Wait." While Camille stood there in shock.

She turned around, and he held out his phone, "We can exchange numbers-" Camille was on high alert, "Just incase you need someone to look after Karlie, or just someone to talk to." He explained. Reluctantly, Anna exchanged numbers with him.

She tried to smile and wave as she went out of the room, and out the door. But all that she could think about was the confusion and confliction that was fighting inside of her.

**Author's Note: That was fun, just wanted to get another person into the loop -Camille. **

**-The poll that I had, let's just say that **Count On You** won by a landslide. I'll be updating this one on a regular basis.**

**-Review, you know what I want to say, get the review count up to 60. Please try and get up to 10 single reviews, that would be the best present I could get... And I might have a really good chapter come up soon...**


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Well, I'm back, with a very interesting twist if I say so myself. Logan may seem a little OOC, but once you find out why you'll understand... I hope that didn't give anything away.**

**I wanted to give a BIG thanks to EVERYONE of my reviewers, as I got over 10 for the last chapter, and I'm over 70 in the review count. That is amazing!**

**-I've had a few questions on why Anna would open up to Camille and Logan, but be reluctant to tell Kendall, well here's my reason:**

**1) With Logan, he was the friend she trusted most after Kendall, and she had kept the secret for so long that she needed to tell _someone_ and Logan was a trustworthy person to tell.**

**2) With Camille, well she's the first person who has been her friend since the guys left and she got pregnate. Meaning she'd be opening up to her easier because Camille wouldn't judge her.**

**Hope that cleared things up, and for those who like the Anna/Logan friendship -please don't kill me!**

**I pulled this Chapter through just for you guys because of your lovely reviews, and I hope you like it. (Also, I've gotten about 5 PM's about updating soon! So I just had to. This is for all those people -you know who you are.)**

**Read, and you'll be pretty surprised by what happens hopefully...**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 7:_

Anna was in front of the school with Karlie, waiting for Logan and Camille to show up. They were going to watch Karlie while Anna had to go to a teacher's workday, since no one else had time to baby-sit. Not that she didn't trust Logan or Camille, she was just afraid of them slipping up. But they were taking care of her this entire week, as it was all teachers' workdays.

A black BMW pulled up to the school, and Logan and Camille stepped out, smiling. Karlie squealed, wasting no time to go up and hug them. She had practically been over to their house, or vice versa every day. "Aunt Cami, Uncle Logie!" She yelled.

Even Logan had gotten a new nickname from the five year old girl, though Logie wasn't his preferred name, he was now known to her as Uncle Logie, like Camille was Aunt Cami.

Anna walked over to them. "Thanks for being able to take care of her, I really need to make this meeting and Karlie would be alone."

It was now the beginning of October, and in cold Minnesota you already needed a coat, scarf and gloves to go outside.

Logan shrugged, "its fine, she's a cute little kid, and she's not too hard to deal with." He replied, ruffling the little girl's hair.

Karlie stuck her tongue out at him, before fixing her hair again, and then bouncing around, "What are we gonna do?" She asked excitedly.

"I'd like to know that too." Camille replied, looking at her fiancé, who refused to tell her where they were taking Karlie. All she knew was that they weren't going back to the house, at the risk of Kendall, Carlos or James seeing.

Anna raised an eyebrow at Logan, "I'm guessing you're not going to tell me either?" He nodded, smiling, "Just don't give her anymore sugar, she put chocolate into the pancake mix this morning, and she ate five pancakes."

Camille laughed, "And that is why this is my favorite little girl." She sighed dramatically, "Just like me when I was younger, getting crazy on sugar, and then acting."

The young mom looked at Logan, "You're in charge." She said. "Besides, Karlie will get a bunch of candy on Halloween."

Karlie added in, "And presents, that's my birthday!" She squealed.

Anna rolled her eyes, picking the little girl up, kissing her on the top of her head, "Don't give them too much trouble Karlie."

Soon, Karlie was pilling into the backseat of Logan's BMW, and Anna watched as they drove away.

Camille looked at the little girl playing on Logan's phone in her seat, and smiled, "This is why I think we should have kids." She said to herself.

Logan would have heard it, had he not been going over his plan inside of his head.

Today would be interesting…

* * *

Kendall watched as the group of twelve kids, split into two teams, as they played a game of hockey, only butting in when it seemed like they needed help. "Jeremy, don't go for the easy shot." He told as a little boy was about to make a straight shot for the goal.

The boy switched tactics, passing the puck to another boy, who shot it straight through the goal, making a swish.

The opposite team of kids groaned, and he smiled before yelling, "Alright, that's it for today. We'll do some more exercises tomorrow." They groaned, "And then play another game." He added, which got a lot of cheers of happiness from the group of boys.

As they excited the ice, the boys chorused, "Thanks Coach Knight!"

He turned to get out of the rink, as that was his last group of kids for the day. Getting out, he sat on the bench and started to unlace his skates.

"Kendall!" He heard a familiar voice call, and looked over to see Logan standing there, proudly beaming.

Kendall smiled, "Hey Logan, I thought you were working with Camille on her play this week. Get tired of screaming kids already?" He teased.

The smart boy just kept beaming, "Actually, Camille is helping out a friend and canceled their rehearsals. So I just thought I'd stop by, we haven't talked in a while." He shrugged, sitting on the bench across from Kendall.

Raising an eyebrow at his friend, Kendall replied, "Um, Logan, we talked yesterday. Remember, Carlos, James and you came over and we watched the game in my basement…" He prodded, wondering what was making the other boy so weird lately. Last night he hadn't spoken a word to any of them.

Logan nodded, "Yeah, I forgot." He said hesitantly.

The blond boy asked, "What's up?" Logan looked up, confused, "You're acting really weird, and you didn't talk to any of us yesterday either."

"Yeah, I'm just… stressed I guess. The medical classes are a little harder than I anticipated." He lied, and Kendall didn't believe it for a second.

Kendall smirked, "Is medical class too hard for smart little Logie." He teased, and after a few silent seconds, said, "Really, what's up? You've never acted all weird and squirmy around me."

"Nothing is 'up' Kendall." Logan responded, and then before the blond could say anything, he asked, "Hey, you're good with teaching kids hockey. I've got a kid that really loves hockey, and wants to learn, think you'd be able to help?" He asked warily.

Kendall scrunched his eyebrows, but said, "Yeah, I can teach them. But first, why do you have a kid in the first place?"

Logan finally said something that made sense, "Like I told you, Camille is doing a favor for a friend. She's watching one of the mom's little kid from her play –since she helps out a lot." He said calmly.

Though the blond boy was still confused, he nodded, "Sure, I can teach the kid. I've got a lot of time."

Logan smiled, "I'll go grab her and Camille, thanks Kendall."

Walking out the door, Logan was smirking. The plan churning in his brain was going great.

* * *

Camille watched as Logan exited the rink, and stepped out of the car, Karlie still playing with the medical supplies that Logan had left in the backseat.

She walked over to him, "What did you tell him Logan? Anna needs to tell Kendall for herself, and I'm sure that Karlie would like her mom to tell her if she knew her dad was here." Camille asked, raising her eyebrows.

Logan saw the determined look on Camille's face, her arms crossed, "Camille, I didn't tell him anything. I just asked him if he would teach one of your theater kids hockey. He doesn't know anything."

Camille knew when he was lying, and when he wasn't. This time, he wasn't, but she could tell there was something else. "You have a plan don't you?" She asked.

Instead of replying, he opened the back door, taking the stethoscope from Karlie and helping her out of the car. "I'm not doing anything to tell Kendall." He said to Camille, and the lean down to the little girl, "I heard that you liked hockey. I've got a friend that would love to help you learn to play."

Karlie jumped up and down, "I wanna play hockey!" She squealed, pulling them inside.

Logan turned to Camille, who was still giving him the questionable look. He sighed, "I promise, Anna will have to tell him for Kendall to find out. I just thought that Kendall should get the chance to meet his daughter –even if he doesn't know it." He said, kissing her cheek.

Camille sighed, giving in, but slapped him across the face, "I really hope you're not lying, because I can do worse than a slap."

Finally, they followed Karlie into the rink, and got her a pair of skates to rent. Walking to the edge over to Kendall, who was shoot goals, he yelled, "Kendall!"

Kendall turned around, and skated over to them, leaning on the side of the rink, smiling, showing off his dimples. "Hey Logan, Camille." He looked at the little girl, "Who's this?" He asked, leaning down to her height.

Karlie proudly said, "Karlie, I wanna learn to play hockey."

Something about the kid brought up memories, memories about Anna. Maybe it was because the little girl had the same hair as her, the same facial features. It was like Anna when she was five. That was until he saw the girls' eyes; olive green. It wasn't Anna he had to remind himself, it was some other little girl, Anna had brown eyes.

Snapping out of his trance, he saw Camille hit Logan in the shoulder, giving him a look. He turned back to the little girl, "So Karlie, have you ever skated before?"

Karlie shrugged, "Mommy took me on the ice once, but she doesn't like to skate a lot."

Kendall nodded, "Alright, have you ever rollerbladed?"

She nodded, "Uh-huh."

He smiled, "Well, it's just like that, except you don't have to pick your feet up. Just shuffle them a little bit." Kendall led her onto the ice, showing her how to glide on the ice.

Karlie was eager to get started, and nearly took off onto the ice, going much faster than Kendall had anticipated. She slipped when she had almost made a loop around the ice, but he was used to this, and steadied the little girl. "You seem like a natural. Now, in hockey you need to learn to go fast to get past the other players."

Karlie followed his instructions and weaved around the ice, like there was people, only slipping up once or twice. Kendall thought, _Wow, she's easier to teach than the any of the other kids. She kinda reminds me of when my dad taught me to play, I did everything he told me to do easily._

He smiled, and then went back to teaching the little girl to skate.

* * *

On the sidelines, Camille and Logan were watching. Camille said to him, without turning her head, "As much as Anna would kill us –correction, you- if she knew, I think Karlie's really happy. Even if she doesn't know the truth."

Logan smiled, wrapping his arms around her, "That was the point. Anna doesn't have to tell Kendall today, or tomorrow. But he should still get to spend time with Karlie, even if he doesn't know."

Camille sighed, "They look happy, like they already knew the truth."

He laughed, "Sometimes you just know those things. They just won't know what it really means."

Karlie was trying to do a spin on the ice, nearly falling before the blond boy caught her arm and pulled her up, "Are you playing hockey or ice skating?" He asked.

Karlie stuck her tongue out, "Hockey." She said, and raced off to the other side of the rink, pretending to make a shot into the net.

Kendall chuckled, "Logan, where in the world did you get this kid?" He mumbled, trying to chase after Karlie as she skated around.

* * *

That entire week every time that Kendall saw Karlie he thought of memories of his and Anna's childhood. When she was little and was so innocent. But Karlie's personality was different, she was spontaneous and very childlike. Almost like Carlos, but her love for hockey made her seem like Kendall at other times.

Anna had been more cautious, more like Logan. She was more dependable to tell your secrets to, someone to cry on when you got hurt, because you knew that she was trustworthy. Kendall and Anna were opposites in some ways, and the same in the other. When she was guarded, he was open. When she was cautious, he was spontaneous. But, both of them were protective of the ones they loved more than anyone had ever known. Both would put themselves in harm to help their loved ones. Maybe that was what Kendall had found so interesting all those years ago.

Suddenly, he remembered when he had first met Anna like it was yesterday:

_Kendall walked outside on a chilly October day, the five year old bouncing around. He heard his mom yell after him, "Be back from James' house by dinner!"_

_He yelled back, "Alright mom." But kept walking down the street. Once he made it into the main street, he knew he would have to walk down it and then go into the next street. It was only three blocks between his house and James, but he was tired and didn't want to have to walk that far._

_Seeing a park, Kendall smiled, "Maybe I could cut through here." He thought, walking forward into the tree's._

_He continued for a few minutes, when he saw a bench, where a girl around his age was sitting. She had long, wavy black hair that fell in front of her face as she bent down. He curiously approached her, "Hi." He said when he was right beside the bench._

_The girl looked up from what she was doing, and he saw her brown eyes. She didn't respond, looking back down and continuing to draw a picture on a piece of paper in her lap._

_Kendall's eyebrows furrowed. He was used to people liking him, but the girl was just ignoring him. After a few minutes of no response, the five years old patience was up, and he said, "My name's Kendall." Hoping for a response._

_Still the girl didn't reply, only looking up from her drawing for a second, before looking back down._

_He started to get frustrated and asked, "What's your name?"_

_The girl looked up, with wide, innocent eyes, "Mommy told me not to talk to strangers." She simply said, before looking down again, continuing her work._

_Kendall frowned, not liking the feeling of someone not liking him. He was like most five year olds: used to being liked. He thought for a minute, "Well, I'll tell about me, and then I won't be a stranger. My name is Kendall Knight, I love hockey, my favorite color is green and I like pizza." He beamed proudly. "Now I'm not a stranger."_

_The girl was hesitated to reply again. But finally responded carefully. "I'm Annabelle." She said, "But I like Anna better."_

_Kendall smiled, "Hi Anna."_

_She tried to smile back, but then went back to her drawing, letting her hair cover her face. _

_He leaned over the bench, trying to look at the picture, "What are you coloring?" He asked._

_Anna looked up, "I'm not coloring, I'm drawing. It's a picture of mommy, daddy and me." She said, finally moving her hair to the side so the picture wasn't covered. Kendall was surprised at the drawing, for a five year old it was pretty good._

_Kendall sat down on the bench, "That's a good drawing." He said, trying to get her to reply._

_Anna nodded, not reply, continuing to draw._

_A few minutes went on, and she finally finished. Kendall thought that she would talk to him, but Anna merely grabbed a backpack off of the ground, taking a folder out of it and putting it in there with other drawings._

_Kendall reached over, "Can I look at them?"_

_She gripped the folder tighter, "There something I don't like to share. My own drawings. I don't share them with anyone." She said, putting the folder away._

_He frowned, but then said, "I'm like that with my hockey stick that dad got me. I don't let anyone else touch it. My other friend Carlos broke his and asked to borrow it, but I don't like when people use it." He paused, "I've got three friends, James, Carlos and Logan. Who are you friends with?"_

_Anna bit her lip, looking down, "I don't have any friends. Mommy says that's because no one takes the time to know me, but it's because all of the kids think I'm weird because I like to be alone. This one kid said I was what's called a 'loner'."_

_Kendall frowned, seeing the girl shrink down to size metaphorically. He put a hand on her shoulder, "I can be your friend if you want."_

_She looked up, confused, "You'd be friends with me?"_

_He nodded, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"_

_Anna fiddled with her fingers, turning away slightly, "Because I'm 'Alone Anna'." She replied, using the name that other kids had given her._

_Kendall's eyebrow's furrowed, "Well, that's not nice of people to say. You need a new nickname…." He thought for a second, "What about Belle?"_

_She looked to him, "Like from Beauty and the Beast?"_

_He laughed, "No, just because your name is Annabelle. So it's part of your name. That'll be my nickname for you... Belle." He mused._

_Anna finally smiled, "What about you, do you have a nickname?"_

_He shrugged, "My dad calls me and my friends 'Hockey Heads' just because we love Hockey so much."_

_She thought for a second, "Do you have one just for _you?_"_

_Kendall thought about it for a second, "No." He said, frowning. He'd never realized that he didn't have a nickname. _

_Anna pondered for a minute, "Well, you'll be Kenny."_

_He furrowed his nose, "I don't like Kenny, it sounds like a girly nickname. What about like Ken-dog or something cool?"_

_She shrugged, "Sorry Kenny, but I picked the nickname, and if you don't like it, it makes it better. The best nicknames are when people don't like them."_

_Kendall stuck out his tongue, and Anna smiled. He said, "That's not nice, I like K-dog better." He argued._

_Anna merely replied to him, "I know, but that's something that your other friends can call you. The whole point of nicknames is that you can have as many as you want."_

_He looked at her strangely, "You sound like my friend Logan when you say that –he's really smart. He knows how to do subtraction already and he can read big books." He added, stretching his arms out for emphasis._

_She laughed at him, "I can read books, mommy said I learned to read when I was only three and a half. I don't subtraction well though. But I can add big numbers."_

_Kendall smiled, "Me too. So do you have any other family other than your mom and dad?"_

_Anna shook her head, "Just my aunt, but she works a lot, so I don't see her a lot." She then added, "What about you?"_

"_Mom, Dad, Uncle Richey, Grandpa and Grandma." Kendall smiled, "Mom says that I'm going to have a baby sister or brother soon though."_

_She smiled, "I wish I had a sister or brother. I don't have anyone to talk to when I'm sad or someone to protect me. I have mom and dad, but I still wish I had an older sibling."_

_Kendall smirked, "When is your birthday?" He asked._

"_December 12__th__, why?"_

_He kept smirking, and then said, "I'll be your older brother than. You can come to me for anything."_

_For the first time in the entire conversation, Anna beamed like she was going to Disney world. "Really?"_

_Kendall nodded, "Yep, I'll never let you down Belle. I know what it feels like." He stated._

_Anna looked at him curiously, "How do you know that you'll never let me down? You could do it without thinking."_

_Kendall smiled, "Because, brother's and sister's dont ever let each other down -they help each other. And I want to be the one to help you out, so you wont have to be hurt, by anything."_

_And with that, Anna had let Kendall into her life. The little five year old wasn't a loner anymore, she had a friend, a best friend. A brother. And Kendall would never forget that day. And to this day, that memory haunted him because he had abandoned her as a friend -as a brother._

Kendall snapped from his trance as he watched Karlie walk out the door, not knowing it would be the a while before he saw the little girl again.

"Belle." He whispered, looking at the ice. Maybe it was time to visit that park again, just for old times sakes. Whether or not there was secrets there.

* * *

Karlie got out of Logan's car and him and Camille walked her to the front door of Anna's house. She looked up at them, "Thanks Aunt Cami and Uncle Logie, I really wanted to learn hockey."

Logan smiled at her, "No problem."

Knocking on the door, he waited a second before Anna emerged holding a stack of papers. "Mommy!" Karlie yelled, running to hug her leg.

Anna laughed, "You are so weird Karlie." She mumbled, "Thank you again for watching her this week." She added to Logan.

He shrugged, "It's no problem, she was really good."

Anna looked at her daughter, "So Karlie, what did you guys do this week." She didn't notice how Logan was inching towards the door.

Karlie said, "I learned how to play hockey!"

She smiled, "Well that's good, I would have taught you, but I don't know how to play. Did Uncle Logan teach you?"

Karlie shook her head, "No, Coach Knight did."

Anna abruptly dropped the papers that she was holding, all of them flying around the room. She looked over at Logan, who was almost out the door, giving him a look.

_What have you done?_

**Author's Note: Before you send in reviews saying "Logan would never do that" please listen. Everything about Logan's intentions will be explained in the next chapter, and it'll make sense -though he still seems a little OOC. But it will make _more _sense I should say...**

**-I loved the flashback when they met, as I tried to make it show why she loved Kendall so much. And just how many promises that he broke when he left her. {Plus, I really like writing innocent little kid versions of Kendall and Anna -along with the others too, but them most!} Hope you liked them too, I kinda thought it was a little fluffy at the end of the flashback, but that's just me.**

**Anyways, I want to thank you for OVER 10 reviews on the last chapter! I was so excited, as we passed the 70 mark in only 7 chapters. So, if you could give that love again and try to put 10 reveiws I'd love you. (Feel free to criticize, as I know my writting has flaws. ex: Some sentances are worded wrong and I dont always spell correctly. Yeah, it's sad that I speak English and I dont have remotely good english/grammer...)**

**Review, please, over 10 and I will update Sunday (4 days) rather than a week. {Updates are getting pushed back because I have lots of homework and doctor appointments ect... yeah, so I cant update as often as I'd like to. But reviews give me inspiration to write during my free time -which I sadly say is like the middle of the night in my time zone!}**


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: This chapter is more of a fill-in of Logan's intentions and Anna's feelings. It is important to the story though, and the next chapter will be VERY good if it turns out the way that I planned it out in my head. (Yes, I know this chapter is short. Not even 3,000 words, sad right?)**

**-**Surfergal **I want to make a notice to you that I put a scene that is VERY similar to your's in **_Hooked_** and I hope that is alright -though I PM'd you about it earlier. Anyone who hasn't checked out that story should -as it is AMAZING! And, I am totally obsessed with her amazing writting skills. **

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 8:_

_Coach Knight_. The name echoed in Anna's mind, and she looked at Logan for a long time, before switching to glancing down at Karlie. "Dinner is on the table, why don't you go and eat while it's hot?" She said, her voice strained.

The little girl ran off, and Anna turned her eyes back to Logan, "Logan, I need to talk to you, outside. Please." She added, trying to stay calm. What had Logan told Kendall?

Logan gulped, and glanced at where Camille was inside of the car, smirking at how she was right. He nodded and walked outside and stood on the porch.

Anna closed the door quietly, before looking at him with stern eyes and crossing her arms, "What the hell have you done Logan?" She asked, trying carefully to keep her tone under control.

He bit his lip, "I didn't do anything. I just let Karlie learn to play hockey."

The black haired girl raised her eyebrows, "By Kendall? You couldn't have taught her yourself?"

Logan tried to think up an excuse, "I'm not as good, Kendall was always the best."

She hit his arm with her fist, surely making a nice bruise for later, "Logan, you do realize that Kendall may think something is up. That Karlie looks _exactly _like me, except for his eyes. Do you not think he'd put two and two together and figure it out?" She asked.

Logan wasn't one to talk back; he was the comforting one that would shrink to the side if someone yelled at him. But now, he retorted, "Kendall deserves to know –and you know that. I didn't tell him, I just said it was a kid from Camille's play and she was doing a favor for the mom. But he got to spend time with his daughter, even if he didn't know it."

Anna threw her hands up, "Do you not understand that _I _need to tell him. That I have to make it right. But I'm not ready to tell him. And if he has to find out second hand then not only will he be angry at me, but he'll be he'll be angry at you too Logan."

He shrugged, "I'm trying to do what's right. You're both my friends, and I don't want to hurt either of you by getting in the middle. I'm trying to make both of you happy at the same time!"

She sighed, "You're going to have to choose a side Logan. I've tried balancing on that line, and all you do is fall, and most of the time you fall to the side that you don't want to be on."

"Anna, I just wanted to let Kendall at least _meet _Karlie. You aren't going to tell him soon, so I needed to at least make him happy knowing that he spent time with his daughter, even if he doesn't know." Logan calmly said back.

Anna stepped back inside of her house, and started to close the door, but Logan blocked it with his foot. "You were just freaking out on me and now you're just going to shut the door in my face?" He asked incredulously.

She looked at him for a second, "You've already chosen what side you're on. You think I should tell Kendall right now, when I'm not ready." She pushed his foot away from the door, "This isn't your fight Logan, stay out of it. I shouldn't have told you anything about this in the first place."

With that, Anna closed the door in his face, sliding to the ground and hanging her head.

_What do I just do?_

* * *

A few days later, Anna was watching as the class of kindergarteners were rehearsing their play, all trying their best to learn their lines. She couldn't help but smile as she saw how happy Karlie was on stage, playing with her friends.

Anna remembered back to the days that she could do that. That her and the guys could just hang around and play like nothing even mattered.

Maybe she needed to tell Kendall, maybe she needed to let Karlie know that she had a father to depend on. Because family was the most important thing.

She didn't want Karlie like her. Building walls around herself to try and keep herself safe. Because when she lost her parents, that's all that she did. Build up walls so high and thick that no one would dare climb them. No one but one person: Kendall.

It had all started when she was at her parent's funeral. That was when the walls started to form, and she started to become enclose in her own world:

_Anna watched as people gathered around the two caskets, where her parents lie. The twelve year old girl tried to hold back sobs as people who she hadn't even met came to give their respects to her and her parents._

_Four boys dressed in tuxedo's stood out among the crowd for her. She could barely see through the tears in her eyes as she looked down at the corpses for her parents. Her cheeks were stained red with tears, and she seemed to cry her eyes out, and tears just kept flowing._

_Mrs. Knight walked over to her where she sat in a seat next to the caskets, a six year old Katie in her arms, oblivious to what was going on. Anna felt her wrap comforting arms around her tiny frame, and Anna sobbed into her chest, "I miss them so much Mama Knight." She cried._

_The bystanders that were friends of her parents still gave their respects, not approaching the sobbing girl as she cried into Mrs. Knight._

"_Anna sweetie, they're in a good place. They will always be here, in your heart. They would never leave you alone; they will always be inside of you." Mama Knight whispered into her ear as she stroked her hair to make her calmer._

_Anna choked on a sob, and then was able to get out, "I want them to come back, I- I don't want to be alone…. I want my- my mom and dad backk." She sobbed._

_Mrs. Knight kissed the top of her head, "Anna, if they was any way that I could bring them back, I would. But I can't, I'm sorry. But I'll be here for you."_

_Anna nodded, trying to wipe away the tears, only having more spill over, "I know you will be Mama Knight, you're always here for me, for everyone."_

_Mrs. Knight kissed the crown of her head once more before moving over to let the next person give their respects._

_People from her mom and dad's high school years were there, and some people who hadn't even known them had attended the funeral. She watched as people said words to her parents, tears in their eyes as well._

"_Anna." Four voices said at once, and she turned to see blurry outlines of her four best friends. _

_Logan was the first one to say anything, "Anna, we're so sorry. You shouldn't have to go through this." He placed a hand on her shoulder._

_Anna instantly flinched away from the touch, but then took a deep breath, "I don't know what to do without them. They were my only family."_

_Kendall looked at her, "I'm your family; we're all your family Anna. You don't have to be alone; we'll be here for you every step of the way." He said, reaching forward to give her a hug._

_She moved away, by instinct. She felt like she _needed _to be alone. Carlos tried next, "Anna, we're your best friends. Why are you not letting us through?"_

_James added, "We could help. I mean –I don't know what it feels like, but we could still help you through it." He offered._

_Anna couldn't take it. She needed to be alone. She wanted to just go home and curl up in a ball in her bedroom and cry. She snapped, "Leave me alone!" People looked at her, but she kept her eyes on her friends, "I don't want your sympathy. You guys just feel bad for me, that's it."_

_The four boys stood there in awe, and Anna said again quietly, "Leave me alone."_

_All of them looked at each other, and then back at her before retreating to their seats in the front row of the pews. _

_Anna looked at her parents caskets one more time, seeing the pale white of their skin and the blank expression on their faces. She plucked two red roses from the arrangements around them, and took them in her hands._

_Standing from her seat, she was the last one to pay their respects. Walking the few steps to the front of the church where the caskets were seemed like miles. Anna looked at their blank faces and then more tears fall down her cheeks._

_Placing a rose inside of each casket, she whispered, "I love you mom and dad. Forever and Always. I'll never forget about you, I love you so much. I wish you were still here." She said between tears, and then turned to sit back in her chair._

_The preacher came up, and started to say, "We are gathered her today to celebrate the lives of Eileen and David Pierce-" He continued, but Anna only seemed to hear a little before she was consumed by darkness again, being a prisoner of her own thoughts._

_From that day Anna had walls around her. A wall that was to be there for a long time._

_

* * *

_

A week after the funeral, Anna was sitting by the tombstone of her parents, crying. Since the burial, she had come back every day to see them.

_When she was here, she felt closer to them, she felt like they knew that she was crying for them. That they knew she loved them. But she also felt that if they were here they would have wanted her to not mourn them, but move on._

_She placed a small arrangement of flowers on the ground, snow lightly falling around her. "I love you mom and dad. I wish you hadn't been in that car, and then you would have never died. We'd still be a family; I wouldn't feel like I was missing a part of me with you gone."_

"_I used to come here a lot." A voice said from behind her. She didn't lift her head though, knowing the voice of Kendall Knight anywhere._

_Kendall sat down beside her, looking at her parents grave, "I wanted to be alone all the time when my dad died. I blocked you out, I blocked everyone out. But after a while I realized that I needed my friends and family to help get over it. I still miss him, but I don't have to mourn him every second. Because I know he would have wanted me to move on and live my life."_

_Anna didn't tear her eyes from the grave, tears falling from her eyes. Kendall wrapped a comforting arm around her, but she pushed him off, "Kendall, I just want to be alone."_

_He sighed sadly, "I know, I felt the same. But it won't get better if you don't open up to someone. You'll just be stuck inside your head."_

_She shook her head, "I don't want your pity Kendall. I never did get why you were friends with me, and I'm fairly sure now that it's just from pity. Did you just pity the little girl that was picked on, and used me as a friend?" She asked harshly, not looking at him._

_Kendall's eyebrow's furrowed, "Belle, why would you think that? I'm friends with you because you're _you._" _

_Anna stared at the tombstone, "Like I said, I don't want pity Kendall. You're here because you pity me. Now I'm the girl who lost her parents."_

_He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Anna, listen. I don't pity you, I never did and I never will. I know what you're going through –remember my dad died two years ago?" He prompted, sounding strained._

_She moved to the side, "You didn't loose your entire family though. You lost your dad. I lost my mom and my dad. You still have your mom and Katie."_

"_I still know what it feels like. My dad was like a best friend to me too. It feels like there's a hole in your heart, that can't be filled." _

_Anna looked down, "It feels like some part of me is missing. Like I'm not a whole person anymore, just part of one."_

_He sighed, "That's what it felt like when my dad died. But you have to open up to someone, or else it will never get better."_

"_If I tell you, will you promise to keep it between us two, and not tell anyone else?" Anna asked with wide innocent eyes that were filled with tears._

_Kendall whipped the tears away from her eyes, "I promise. You can trust me; you're like a little sister to me."_

Anna snapped from her thoughts as she saw Logan walk up the isle of the theater, and she tried to hide her face. He started to pass her and called over his shoulder, "I know that's you Anna."

She crossed her arms as he turned back to her, "What do you want Logan?" Why did it seem so hard to stay mad at him?

He sat down across the aisle, "I wanted to ask if I could take Karlie to Hockey lessons again." He said, his voice not wavering.

Anna's eyes widened, "With the chance that Kendall will know? We already had this conversation Logan. I know that you're on Kendall's side, and that you would do anything for him –even tell him. But that's what I need to do."

Logan raised his hands up in defeat, "I'm not here to fight. I just want Kendall to be able to spend time with his _daughter_. You should want the same thing."

She bit her lip, "Karlie can go to practice-" Logan silently cheered, "But if you have to make sure that both of them don't know."

"When are you even going to tell them Anna?" Logan asked, a little irritated.

"I don't know. I'll tell them when it's the right time. But right now, it's not. I'm not just going to go up to Kendall and say he has a daughter."

Logan stood up, "You need to tell him. Because I can't play this game forever. He should know, Karlie's birthday is soon, and he'd want to be with her."

With that, he turned and went to help Camille with the decorations.

Anna mumbled under her breath, "Logan is right -he deserves to know."

**Author's Note: Finito! I don't know if I ever spelt that right... well, I meant finished! (My computer is jazzing out on me and messing up words/sentances lately and Microsoft Word isn't working well, and will spontaniously delete a chapter... Urg, I hate this computer.)**

**-The funeral scene actually was based off of when My uncle Richey died, and Anna acted alot like my cousins in it. Even I was very detatched after that, and this is my respects for him -though he died 6 years ago. But I based that off of my feelings during the funeral.**

**I have the next chapter already planned, and it'll be posted depending on reviews.**

**1-4 reviews: One week**

**5-9 reviews: Five days**

**10-14 reviews: Three days. **

**15- 19 reviews: Tomorrow **

**+20 reviews: Today {yes, i know that is asking alot!}**

**I want to get over 100 reviews on the counter thingy so badly. Please, please at least get that to or _over_ 100!**

**If I get over the 100th review mark, I will be personally thanking everyone. (And I may just send a little snippet of the next chapter!)**

**Review, please! I love them so much!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: So, this chapter is Kendall centric for the most part, Logan being in the second position. Anna makes two _tiny_ appearences, but that's about it. I want so Kendall angst rather than just Anna angst -if that makes sense.**

**- I hope everyone liked the small snippet from the chapter I sent as a thank you for reviewing. I got over 100 on the counter, and over 20 for just the last chapter. I am so amazed. I'm sorry if there is errors in this, as I did a speed type to keep my promise of updating again today. (And special thanks to the people who are avid reviers, as I love them.)**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 9:_

Anna got up from her seat in the theater, and walked up to Camille, "Do you mind driving Karlie home for me? I need to go home and think things over." She asked, already putting her coat on.

Camille shrugged, "Sure, but you've got to help with wedding details next week."

The black haired girl raised an eyebrow, "The wedding isn't until April –it's October! Why in the world are you worrying about it now?"

"I want it to be perfect. I mean, me and Logan have dated for nearly six years, and I want our wedding to be really special."

Anna sighed, "Alright," She reluctantly agreed, "Remember that Logan wants her to have hockey lessons after the play too."

Camille was the one to raise an eyebrow, "You're letting her take classes?"

"Yeah." She scrunched her nose, "Logan's good at negotiating I guess. He said Kendall should get the chance to see his daughter, even if he doesn't know."

That made the other girl smile, "I agree, Karlie should get a chance to know him –and whenever you decide to tell him, Karlie wouldn't be meeting a stranger…" She thought, "How about we take her out to dinner after Hockey practice? She'll be hungry, and you wouldn't have to cook." Camille offered.

Anna looked at her, "I can't let you do that. Camille, you already help me enough."

Camille glanced at her while still setting up designs, "You know that Logan helps just as much as I do, if not more."

"Well," Anna started, "I still just don't like the idea of her going to hockey practice. I get Logan's point, and I respect what he thinks. I just don't want Kendall knowing before I tell him."

Camille stopped what she was doing to look at her, "Why are you so afraid of telling him anyways? I mean, he is the most family-oriented person I know. And he already loves Karlie just from teaching her hockey."

"Because, I don't want to force this on him, like I feel like I'm forcing it on you." She paused, "When the guys left, I built a wall around myself, I was guarded. I didn't let anyone in –though no one talked to me because I was a disgrace having a baby at sixteen." She thought for a moment, "Where was I at? Oh yeah, I trusted Kendall with my life, with everything. He was the one that I would lean on when I was hurt and needed comfort. When I met him when we were five, he promised to be my best friend, to be my brother. He made loads of other promises that he never kept. I guess that's why I don't want to let him in again, being afraid that he will make promises and then just break them." Anna finished quietly.

Camille let out a low whistle, "Now I understand why you wouldn't want to tell him. I mean, fear itself is something, but after knowing that he broke so many promises I wouldn't tell him either." She said, putting a comforting arm on Anna's shoulder.

Anna gave a sad smile, "Thanks for understanding Camille. I'm just gonna go home and draw. That always cleared my head and helped me make decisions." She said, giving the other girl a hug.

"Any time. Maybe I should get a job like Dr. Phil in counseling…" The brunette wondered.

"Camille, you're my best friend and you have your sensible moments, but I don't think that'd be the best carrier choice for you. Stick with the acting and theater." Anna advised with a sad chuckled, grabbing her bags.

* * *

Kendall watched as Karlie skated around the ice with much more grace then a regular five year old. He couldn't help but stop to think about Anna whenever he saw the little girl. Though they were polar opposites, he still saw the similarities in them.

He heard Logan and Camille whispering in the background, but he wasn't able to hear his conversation. Usually hockey made him calm, but today the atmosphere in the ice rink was very heavy, weighing on his shoulders like pounds on bricks.

Suddenly Logan called over to him, "Kendall, can I talk to you?"

He glanced as Karlie made a shot into the net with a hockey stick and puck he used for training the kids. Finally, he glided over to where Logan was standing at the edge of the rink, leaning over the wall.

Camille wobbled onto the ice, having not ever skated before, but made sure that Karlie was safe when Kendall was talking with Logan.

Kendall stepped out of the rink and sat on the closest bench, "What's up Logan?" He asked airily.

Logan seemed torn, and he finally said, "Are we bad people?"

The blond looked at him like he had three eyes, "What are you talking about? We haven't done anything wrong?"

"No, I don't mean we did something recently –well, I have, but that's not the point." The brunette took a long, deep breath, "I mean, we always said that we'd keep our friends first and never break a promise. But when we moved we broke a lot of those promises and didn't keep our friends first."

Kendall looked at him incredulously, "We have always put our friend's first Logan –that's the point we even went to work with Rocque Records. We did it for James, to make his dreams come true." He reminded, "And we kept all our promises –we got Jenny a singing job for a few years, we might have not mowed my neibors lawn, but we got her a _limo_. We pretty much kept them all."

Logan shook his head, "You don't understand what I'm saying. What I mean is we _did _leave our friend behind, we all broke promises to her. And we never even apologized for it. We just kept going like nothing was wrong –we weren't good friends."

The blond furrowed his eyebrows, "What are you talking about?" He asked, baffled.

Sighing, Logan explained, "Remember when we were little –six I think- we made a promise that we would always do whatever it took to stay friends. We said long live our friendship. We said that we would always keep our promises to each other." He paused, "But we didn't. She was already hurt enough from her parents dying, and then we left her. All the promises we made, we just crushed."

Finally, it sunk into Kendall; Anna. "Yeah." He mumbled.

Logan pursued his lips, "You know that she trusted you more than any of us. She could relate to you in some ways, and then was your opposite in others. Maybe that's why you guys seemed to trust each other so much." He prodded.

Kendall looked at him, "I know I broke a lot of promises to her, but it's not like I can just magically fix all of them. What's done is done, she hates me. I mean, it's not like I want to get back together, but I want to patch up what I did before."

The other boy him a look, "Why haven't you then?"

He sighed in frustration, "Because, Anna already told me that she practically hates me."

Logan shrugged, "Maybe she just said that because of what _you_ did to her." He stated simply.

Kendall raised an eyebrow, "You think it's only my fault? That you guys don't get the blame for leaving."

He replied, "Well, Carlos and I really didn't want to leave, we went because you guys did. That doesn't mean we didn't like BTR, but that means we didn't intentionally hurt her. And James, we all knew he would leave to be famous one day. But you, she thought you'd always be here for her."

"You sound like you know her really well."

Logan smiled weakly, "Well, if she couldn't tell you something she'd tell me." He paused, "So why not fix all those broken promises? You didn't really give a good reason."

Kendall frowned at him, "I promised Anna a lot of things. And most of them I couldn't keep. I don't know why I promised them at the time, but I did. And there isn't any way I could fix them not."

"I talked to Anna recently," The blond gave him a strange look, "Since she knew you were back she's been very different. You remember when her parents died and she built a wall around herself?" He nodded, "Well that's what's she's done. We were her family after they died, and then we left. I wouldn't be surprised if that wall has been up for years."

Kendall looked at him, "Since when did you know so much about her? Anna was always very… mysterious. She kept a lot of secrets and didn't let many people in to begin with. And if what you think is right, then she wouldn't let you in at all."

Logan shrugged again, "I've got reasons that she trusts me." He replied, letting the sentence hang in the air.

"What reason?" The other boy asked, looking at him curiously.

The brunette bit his lip, "Sorry Kendall, but that's something that you and Anna need to work out. I'm just caught in the middle of all of this. She only trusts me because I _know_ –that's my reason."

Kendall glanced back at Karlie skating around, trying to teach Camille at this point. "You aren't going to tell me are you?"

Logan smirked, "Nope, that's between you, Anna and one other person." Kendall didn't notice how his eyes flickered to Karlie as he finished his sentence.

He thought for a second, "Can you tell me the secret that she's keeping from me?"

He also didn't notice how Logan's eye's got a little wider at the statement. "Kendall, like I said, that's something Anna's got to tell you. I'm just stuck in the middle."

Kendall thought and finally determined, "So Anna trust's you because you know the secret." He stated rather than asked.

Logan smiled a bit, "You're getting closer –that's all I'm saying. Anna already is starting to not trust me; I shouldn't add another reason to that very long list." He said, getting up, "Anyways, you should talk to her and fix those secrets, it may help." He advised.

Kendall nodded, and the other boy called to Karlie and Camille, "Girls, how about we go out for dinner?–Coach Knight needs to do something." He said, giving a pointed look to Kendall.

Karlie reluctantly skated to the edge of the rink, "Five more minutes, I was beating Aunt Cami by nearly ten points!" She exclaimed.

Camille patted her shoulder, looking at Logan, "Well, it's not my fault that I didn't live in the cold my entire life! I was an actress, not a figure skater."

At the same time Karlie and Kendall said, "Hockey player!"

Smiling, Logan grabbed Camille's hand as she picked Karlie up and they headed out the door.

Kendall was left inside of the cool rink, and he mumbled, "What are Anna and Logan hiding?"

* * *

Kendall didn't know why he walked from the rink that day. He slowly found himself walking down Pine Grove, seeing Anna's parents' house at the end of the street.

He walked even slower down the few blocks, thinking of old, faded memories as he did:

_"Mom says that I'm going to have a baby sister or brother soon though."_

_"I wish I had a sister or brother. I don't have anyone to talk to when I'm sad or someone to protect me. I have mom and dad, but I still wish I had an older sibling."_

_"When is your birthday?"_

_"December 12th, why?"_

_"I'll be your older brother than. You can come to me for anything."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yep, so what do you want to do Belle?"_

He had promised to be a friend, a best friend, a brother. But none of them would have left without warning. A brother would have taken her with him, not leaving her alone, knowing that he was her true family, her brother in a sense.

But he did leave.

_"I fell last time, I don't like falling Kendall."_

_"We all don't like to fall Belle. I remember back when my dad took me here for my first time on the ice. I fell down a bunch of times, and I never wanted to come back. But after a while, and with some help, I stopped falling, and now I love the ice."_

_"But what happens if I hurt myself falling?"_

_"You won't because if you even slip, I'll catch you, I promise. You won't get hurt."_

Maybe he had meant that in more than one way. He had meant it in all senses of the sentence. He wouldn't let her fall, and if she did, he'd be there to catch her. But then, he left, he didn't catch her when she fell. She simply fell to the bottom of that black hole, making walls around herself.

_"I love you so much, I wish you didn't have to leave."_

_"Me neither, but I need to help James' dream come true." He pulled away, "I'll come back here, I promise. Once our chance at fame is over, I'll move back and the first place I'll be is your door."_

But he never visited her. He had moved into a new house, only seeing her when they bumped into each other at the park, coffee shop and rink. He never once went to her house. There was another broken promise.

How many promises would he break? He never thought of how much it would have hurt her, having him break these promises. He finally felt the guilt: the guilt that came with breaking a promise, the aching heart that felt empty.

He shouldn't have called her to break up, he should have visited to say it, or even not do it at all. But he didn't. Then when she tried to keep up their friendship, he stopped connecting with her. When she emailed, it went to the 'trash' pile with one click.

But then when Jo broke up with him he felt that pain. But never once before moving back did he think he had caused Anna that much pain. He hadn't thought of her since a few months after breaking up with her.

He thought of the last time he kissed her:

_Slowly, their lips connecting for the last time._

_"I love you Kendall, so much it hurts to let you go." _

_"I love you too Anna, I promise, we'll get through this."_

That had been their last kiss, the last time Kendall had felt those soft lips on his. He had never thought about it. He didn't believe that he and Anna would ever be apart, that they could get through this:

_"You're the only thing I have left."_

_"I won't be gone forever Anna. I'll come back and visit, and after a few years we'll move back and I can see your beautiful face again." _

Why would he say something that he didn't mean? At the time he had meant it, he had believed that they could outstand the odds against them and live happily. But this wasn't a fairytale, Anna wasn't his princess.

He was always someone to keep a promise; he hadn't remembered breaking a promise –especially a pinky promise- before this. He was Kendall Knight. To everyone, he was perfect, great hockey player, hot, and had those cute dimples. But he was also honest, trustworthy and most of all, he was someone to rely on.

That just didn't seem to be the case anymore; he wasn't someone to rely on. He had lied, whether intentional or not, he had. He had broken Anna's heart. He hadn't realized it until today, but he was one of the reasons for her walls: he was most of the reason for her walls. He was her brother, her family, after her parents died. And he let her down.

Maybe Logan was right, he needed to see her, to make up for all the broken promises that he made years ago.

_"How do you know that you'll never let me down? You could do it without thinking."_

_"Because, brothers and sisters don't ever let each other down -they help each other. And I want to be the one to help you out, so you won't have to be hurt, by anything."_

Why couldn't he just have kept that promise? Why could they have never grown up? It would be easier to be back to when they were five, just meeting. They didn't have to worry about things, or do anything but have their friends.

He broke them all. He didn't realize it, but he had also broken himself when he broke every one of those promises. He just hadn't felt the full affect until now. And the pain from it was terrible.

Was Logan right again? Was he a terrible person?

* * *

Anna was drawing in the study her dad used to use. She finished the picture of her and Karlie, putting it in a crowded folder that contained all of her drawings.

Taking all of them out, she looked at them, smiling sadly as tears formed in her eyes. At the top of the pile there was a bunch of scribbles from when she was very young, and slowly the drawings got better and better.

She stopped at one for a moment, and looked at it. It didn't look special at all, it looked a kid drawing. It was a black and white drawing of Anna and her parents. But it brought up those memories:

_"What are you coloring?" _

_"I'm not coloring, I'm drawing. It's a picture of mommy, daddy and me."_

_"That's a good drawing."_

_A few minutes went on, and she finally finished. Anna merely grabbed a backpack off of the ground, taking a folder out of it and putting it in there with other drawings._

_"Can I look at them?"_

_"There something I don't like to share. My own drawings. I don't share them with anyone."_

Smiling, she flipped to the next picture, and then the next. Finally, she stopped when she found one that she had drawn when she was sixteen. It was a picture of Kendall, smiling with his dimples. Anna smiled the tiniest bit, before flipping through the rest of the pictures. There was some with all the guys, but the majority of them were of Kendall.

There was a knock at the door, and Anna placed the folder of drawings back into the top drawer of the desk before heading to the door.

The doorbell rang this time, and she called, "I'm coming!" Wasn't it a bit early for Logan and Camille to have taken Karlie to practice and dinner?

Opening the front door, she was more surprised than ever, seeing those green eyes looking at her intently, "Kendall." She whispered.

He stood there awkwardly, "Er, I need to talk to you." He explained.

Karlie would probably keep Logan and Camille at dinner for a while, so Anna reluctantly opened the door farther, "Come on in." Leading him into the living room, she asked, "Why did you stop by?" Her tone casual.

Kendall gulped audibly, "I came to apologize."

**Author's Note: Yeah, I had to end it there! I had it end at the end of Kendall's thoughts orriginally, but then I added the small Anna scene and the sorta cliffhanger. **

**I put parts and peices of flashbacks as to show Kendall's thoughts on everything now, and not from back then. Plus, to show home many promises he broke in the process.**

**Review, it will be the same chart as last time almost:**

**1-4 reviews: One week**

**5-9 reviews: Five days**

**10-14 reviews: Three days. **

**15- 19 reviews: Two Days **

**+20 reviews: Tomorrow**

**I know that I said it'd update the same day if I got over 20 reviews, but I haven't even started the next chapter. But, if by chance I get it done I'll post it really late tonight, or EARLY tomorrow. Thank you again for so many reviews, and getting me over 100 on this story. You guys are truely amazing!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: By the time the chapter ends, I might have a few death threats. While you read on, I am going to hide behind a rock...**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 10:_

Anna looked at him, trying to keep a straight façade on, "Apologize about what?" She asked, sitting in one of the arm chairs across from where Kendall sat on the couch.

He sighed, clearly uncomfortable, "I wanna say that I'm sorry." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I made a lot of promises to you, and I didn't keep a single one of them. And I want to say I'm sorry for that."

She scrunched her face, "Kendall, sorry isn't a magic word –it doesn't cure wounds that have been there for years. Do you remember that quote by Roosevelt Kennedy I had to memorize in 7th grade?" He gave her a confused look, "It said, _'it has been said that time heals all wounds. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue, and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.'_"

Kendall looked at her, confused, "What does that have to with me trying to apologize?" He asked, part of his mind wondering how or why she knew that quote on the top of her head. It had been years since then. _But maybe she remembered because her parents died a year before then, and the quote just stuck._ He mused.

Anna took a breath, "The meaning behind the quote is that no matter how much time passes, deep wounds can't be healed. There's a reason I'm guarded Kendall, and it's because of those wounds. But my wounds weren't covered in scar tissue; they remained the same all this time." She said wisely.

He soaked in her words, and then started to say, "I just want to say I'm sorry."

She interrupted him, "You've said you were sorry before, but sorry doesn't change everything."

Kendall spoke up again, "I want to say I'm sorry for hurting you. For breaking my promises that I'd be there for you, for breaking my promise that I'd always love you and we'd stay together. And so many more too, but I can't take what it feels like to break all these promises." He huffed.

Anna looked at him, "I understand some things. I understand you leaving –though I didn't like it- I understand that you couldn't talk much. But what I don't understand is why you never visited, because you had a concert not an hour away on multiple occasions, and I don't understand why you broke my heart."

He frowned, "Anna, I didn't _mean_ to break your heart."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Kendall, we all do stuff we don't _mean _but that doesn't make them alright."

"Anna, I wanna say that I'm sorry. That if I could go back to December than I would. I would go back to when Gustavo came and turned down his offer. I'd much rather have your friendship than be famous." Kendall tried.

She started to have a tear fall from her eye, but she whipped it away, "That night Kendall we were supposed to have a date, I was gonna give you a signed hockey stick from the Minnesota Wilds."

His eyes widened, but he got a straight face again, "Anna, I promised that I'd take care of you, and I know that I broke it. But now's the time that I need to make up for it."

Anna looked at him with a softened expression, "Kendall, when we were young, I needed you like I needed air. You were everything to me and I loved you more than I loved anyone else." She paused to take a breath, "But now, I don't need your protection, I don't need you to take care of me. I've grown up and accepted the fact that you weren't going to be in my life forever… I moved on."

"Belle," Kendall started, but she interrupted him again.

"What'd you just say?" She asked, making sure she was hearing right.

"Belle." He repeated. "I remember that day I gave you that nickname, the day you became my little sister. And you may have given up on me keeping my promises, but I haven't."

She looked so much more vulnerable at hearing him call her the old nickname. The last time she had heard it was when they were in the airport, having their last goodbyes. "You have given up, or you would have kept them." Anna added quietly.

Kendall frowned, "I did, you're right. I gave up on my promises; I even gave up on you." He looked at her, "But I'm not making that mistake again. Family means more to me than anything else. You were part of my family once, why not again?"

She bit her lip, contemplation on just telling him about Karlie. "Kendall, family sticks together. They don't make promises that they can't keep."

He sighed, frustrated, "Anna, I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could have kept my promises, but I can't! Alright?" He yelled loudly.

Anna flinched back at this, and whispered, "Leave."

Kendall noticed her reaction, and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Anna, what'd I do?" He asked, concern lacing his delicate voice.

At the simple touch she pushed his hand off, turning the other way, "Just leave Kendall."

He didn't move, crossing his arms and asking again, "What'd I do?"

Anna turned her head to look at him, "You did _everything._ There is so much in my life that I wish you knew, I wish you could help. But I won't tell you –I can't. Because you say family is important, but then you leave me. What happens when you do that again? Do I let you in, and then build up walls around myself to keep the one person I care about safe?" She retaliated.

"Who's the person you care about?" He asked, suddenly feeling he was getting her closer to opening up to him; to telling him all of the truth.

Anna swallowed hard, knowing she had given him one step closer to knowing about Karlie. But right now, she was too caught up in the moment to feel the weight on her shoulders. She thought quickly, and then said, "Who I care about is something that I know. You don't need to know, as it's obvious that you only want to know what I'm hiding."

Suddenly Kendall stood up, "Belle, I just want to know what's wrong. I want to help fix it." He whispered, stepping closer to her.

Getting up from her chair, Anna took a step back, not liking how he had invaded her space. "Whoever said that it was a mistake? What if it doesn't need to be fixed?" She mumbled back. "Why don't you just go back with Jo Taylor, go back to California and have a happy life there. Because prying into my secrets will only take you into the black hole that I've been stuck in since I was twelve."

Kendall's eyebrows furrowed together, "I don't care, just let me in. I still care about you Anna. Maybe not in the same way as before, but I still don't want you hurting." He touched her shoulder again, but she brushed him off.

"Leave Kendall." Anna bluntly said, looking down.

He stepped closer to her, and using the same tone, replied, "No."

She pushed him away stepped back two paces. "Just go."

Kendall stepped forward till he was in her face, "Tell me what you've been hiding. You told Logan, why not tell me?" He asked, his breath warm on her face.

Anna crossed her arms again, "Logan finding out was pure coincidence, I made a mistake by telling him. I knew he would spill, and it's only so much longer before he tells you."

He breathed, and she felt the warm breath on her face, sending strange tingles down her spine. She shivered a bit, and he whispered, "Wouldn't you rather tell me?"

Finally, Anna snapped from her trance and pushed him away, making him stumble backwards. "Get out Kendall." Why was it that she felt shivers when he touched her, or when he was close? Why was she imagining those soft lips on hers? Maybe she was just caught up in the moment…

He got back up, stepping back in front of her, "You're not going to tell me are you?" She shook her head harshly, "Well, I guess I should explain myself first."

"I always knew that there was something about you, from the day we met. You were mysterious and innocent with those big brown eyes. And then I remember just how scared you got about being on ice, and how you seemed to like alone time better than being with friends. The fact that you told me you're your secrets, but kept them from James, Carlos and Logan. And I said I considered you as a sister, but I thought you were more." He moved forward to cup her face, ignoring her protests, "I remember the first time I kissed you, how it felt like sparks flew.

"And then we went all of the way, and that was the best day of my life. That's all I thought about for the longest time. And I hate breaking everything that I said to you, how I said that I'd come home and be at your door step and kiss you."

Before Anna could take so much as a breath, she felt a pair of warm lips on her own, moving softly. She didn't respond, but she couldn't deny the fact that the kiss was the best she had ever had.

Kendall put more pressure into the kiss, trying to get her to respond. Anna just stood there, in complete shock. He muttered against her lips, "Anna, respond." He then returned to putting everything he had into the kiss.

Finally, she found the strength to push him back. Kendall had a mixture of disappointment and surprise on his face, his eyes darkening with lust. "Anna, I want to be part of your life again. I'm sorry for everything that I did, forgive me, please?"

Anna pulled her hand back before connecting it with his jaw, hearing the sound of her fist's impact. She had a sharp pain in her hand, but nothing compared to the searing pain that flashed across Kendall's jaw.

She then took the same hand and slapped him across the face with all her might. "You don't care Kendall. I let my walls down for you once, and I'm not making that mistake again." She then mumbled, "This time, Logan is wrong. It's best to keep you out of our lives."

Kendall was still holding his face from her hitting him, and he weakly said, "I want to help, I want to be the person I promised I would be." He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled it back.

Anna walked to the front door, opening it widely, "Kendall Knight, get out of my house."

"Anna, let me explain-" He started.

"No, you tried to explain, but that isn't the problem. I don't hate you for breaking _all_ of your promises; I hate you because you broke one of them –the one that I needed to be kept."

"What promise?"

She glanced at him, still standing in the living room, "That you would visit, that you and I would always be together." She opened the door farther, "I never thought there would be a day that Kendall Knight would break a promise, I guess I was wrong." She harshly added.

Kendall finally stepped to the door, but turned around to say, "I'm going to keep those promises."

Anna glared after him, "If you step foot in my house I will do worse than just punching you. You broke everything I had, and it's too late to mend them." She said, before closing the door.

Sliding down the door, tears started to form in her eyes. Why did she say that? Why didn't she just tell him about Karlie?

Taking a shaky finger, she brushed it over her lips, still feeling the lingering kiss that he had left her.

When would she finally be able to let him go?

* * *

That night was hockey night, and all of the guys were already gathered inside of Kendall's basement, waiting for him to come home.

James fixed his hair, "What do you think is taking him so long?" He asked, anxious to turn the game on.

Carlos nodded in agreement, "There wasn't traffic on the way back from the station… maybe he got held up by some old lady with a walker." He suggested.

The smart boy of the group scoffed, "Carlos, grow up. He's talking things over with someone."

"Who's this someone? Is she hot?" James asked suddenly, looking to Logan for answers.

Carlos slapped him upside the head with the TV remote, "You don't even know if it's a girl." He turned to Logan eagerly, "Is it a girl –and if it is, is she hot?"

Logan huffed, "He's talking with Anna –and she's a friend, I don't think of her as _hot._"

That perked both James' and Carlos' interest's, and the taller boy asked, swooping his hair to the side, "Anna, like Anna Peirce?" Logan nodded, "She was pretty, too bad her and Kendall went out. With her good looks and my hotness we'd make a pretty good couple. All the people would envy us-" He went on, and Carlos covered his mouth with his hand.

"Shut up James. Besides she looks kinda different now." He gave the Latino a confused look before Carlos continued, "She visited me." He said proudly, puffing his chest out.

James scoffed, "Yeah, like she'd visit you before seeing me. I was always her _best _friend. And magazines say that best friends are more likely to date successfully than people you just meet." He said knowingly, "And besides, I've got the looks that would make people notice her even more." For emphasis, he combed his hair to the side and gave a bright smile.

Logan held his hands up for them to stop bickering, "Guys, shut up!" He said, starting to get a migraine from them. "Anna doesn't want a relationship; to be honest she doesn't even want to talk to us."

Both boys opened their mouths to ask why, but a third and familiar voice said, "She has those walls up again, I tried to get through, but she wouldn't say much to me." They all turned to see Kendall standing on the bottom step to the basement.

James raised an eyebrow, "You talked to her too?" He nodded, his face wrinkling up a bit, "How come she has seen everyone but me?" The pretty boy asked loudly. "I mean, I was her favorite, I look amazing, and I'm hot!"

"Shut up James, she probably didn't talk to you because of your giant ego. It's the size of a planet by now –like Pluto." Carlos snapped.

Logan then started, "Actually, Pluto is pretty small for its size, and was declassified as a planet in 2006." He recalled.

At once, the pretty boy and the Latino retorted, "Stop being a smart ass."

James looked at Kendall again and saw a bright red hand print on his face, then asked sarcastically, "Did Camille slap you too?" He nudged Logan when he said that, and earned a glare.

Carlos added in, "Dude, did you get in some fight? You've got a big bruise on your chin and your lip is busted open." He pointed to the spot, and jabbed it with his finger.

Kendall flinched back, rubbing his still sore face, "I… I guess it was payback?" He said, almost asking it.

All three raised their eyebrows, and Logan finally sighed in realization. But the other two stayed oblivious as Carlos prodded, "Who needed payback on you? What'd you do, not teach their kid to play hockey right?" He asked, in a 'duh' voice.

The blonde shot him a glare, "No, it's about something from a long time ago." He then quietly added, "And something I _may _have done to piss her off." But none of the others heard it.

James raised his eyebrows, "You got beat up by someone from a long time ago?" He scoffed, "Dude, half the people we knew either moved or don't recognize us… maybe you did get beat up by a kid like Carlos said." He said, smirking, "_Kendall got beat up by a kid_." He sang.

Finally, Kendall snapped and stepped forward, facing James in the face, "James, shut up or I'm going to beat _you_ up. I've had a real shitty day and I just want to be alone." He fiercely said, pushing the taller boy backwards.

Sweet, innocent Carlos asked, "Wait, what about Hockey? We always watch the game at your house?"

Kendall turned to him, still angry. Why did Anna not forgiving him make him _angry?_ "Just leave Carlos, I need to be alone."

The short boy backed up slowly, and James followed him, not taking their eyes off of Kendall. It was as if he would pounce on them at any second. Slowly, they reached the steps and turned around and dashed up them, closing the door quickly.

Kendall turned to Logan, "You're not going to leave too?" He asked harshly.

Standing up, Logan shrugged, "I get why you're mad, I didn't expect Anna to just accept that you were sorry for breaking all your promises."

The taller boy towered over him, "Why the hell would you send me to her house then?" He yelled, "If you already _knew _that she was going to accept anything then why make me go?"

Logan crossed his arms, "First, I didn't _make_ you go, I persuaded you. Second, you needed to go because Anna needs to have someone to depend on, and that needs to be you." He paused, "You may think that you didn't get through to her, but you most likely left a seed of doubt in her mind."

Kendall raised his eyebrows, "What's a seed of doubt gonna do? She's not going to just open up to me and let me back into her life anyways!"

The smart boy smiled weakly, "Come on Kendall, you never know. Anna might just think about it tonight and then realize she was wrong."

"Like that will happen. There's a reason it looks like I got beat up Logan."

The sentence perked Logan's interest, "Wait, Anna beat you up?" He asked, keeping a straight face, though it was hard not to laugh. Imagining little Anna punching Kendall was like Carlos without his helmet or James without his comb; it just didn't happen. "Why'd she punch you?" He asked, trying to pry more information.

Kendall looked down, and mumbled something. Logan couldn't hear, but then he said it again, "Because I kissed her."

Logan's eye's widened, and he looked at his friend, "You're screwed Kendall." He said, before going up the steps.

Why did Logan _always _have to be right? Because he was screwed. Any chance of Anna opening up to him was gone the second he placed his lips on hers.

But why did he feel like he'd rather that kiss than knowing her secret?

Kendall flopped on the couch, holding his head, "What have I done?"

**Author's Note: Yeah, more Kendall angst. I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, an impressive 24! The most I've ever gotten. This story will probably be the most reviewed story I will ever write it feels like.**

**(And to answer a question that I'm sure people that have read my other stories would ask -no I don't like punching Kendall. I love him to the moon and back, and this is for story purposes only, if I met him in real life, I would probably faint...)**

**So, how does getting to over 150 sound? Pretty easy huh? **

**If I get over 20 reviews there's an update again tomorrow -which would be Wednesday, 25th, just saying because it's like 1:00 a.m where I live. Anything under ten is a week, and between 11 and 19 is four days.**

**Reviews make me have Kendall find out sooner! **


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: 21 reviews, again! That's just so funny because I never thought this story would get to 20 reviews total, and 20 a chapter is amazing, anyways, here is the next chapter, but be sure to check my A/N at the end for important info. So, here is Chapter 11! Kinda a fill in chapter, but still important. Anyways, I'm so sorry about the long wait -look to the A/N at the bottom of the chapter for info on it!**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 11:_

The date of the play approached very quickly. It was a week after Kendall had last seen Anna, since he had ruined any chance of getting her to forgive him. October 25th came quickly, and Anna was back behind the stage, helping Camille set up for the play that was supposed to be up in an hour and a half.

Karlie was stressed –a first for the little girl. She was usually very active and funny, but she was sitting in a room alone, curled up in a ball.

Anna walked into the room, in search of her daughter, and when she spotted her, she sighed in relief, "Thank god, I thought I lost you, though that wouldn't be a first." She said lightly, keeling down to her daughter's high.

Karlie hugged her legs closer to her chest, and she was shaking, "I'm scared." She whimpered.

"You're scared?" Anna repeated, and the little girl nodded. "Karlie, what could you be scared about? You are the bravest little girl I know." She comfortably said.

The little girl shook back and forth a bit, "What if I mess up?"

Anna smiled weakly at her, "Karlie, listen to me. You were picked to play Belle, because you were the best of all your classmates. You will do fine. And if, by chance, you do mess up, then just start again."

Karlie bit her lip, "Everyone will make fun of me though."

"No they won't. Aunt Camille picked you because of how brave you were. She knew that _you_ would be able to stand in front of a crowd and get your lines correct. Because you are beautiful, smart, and brave." She said, smoothing her hair.

"Mommy." Karlie started, and Anna looked at her, "I think Jonny shouldn't play the lead –he's mean."

Anna chuckled a little, and rolled her eyes, "I agree, but we need to get you ready for your play." She said, scooping the girl into her arms.

They made their way to the dressing room, where Karlie got into her first costume.

* * *

Somehow Logan had persuaded Kendall to be in the audience, "Come on Kendall, this is to just support Camille. James and Carlos are here too." He said, pointing to the row in front of them where the two boys sat, looking very bored. The play wasn't supposed to start for another ten minutes.

Kendall wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, well I was never a play type of person."

Logan thought for a minute, "There are some kids from your hockey class in it though. There's Jonny, Jackson, Walter… oh and Karlie." He added nonchalantly.

"Logan, I need you to tell me the truth about something." Kendall started.

The smart boy gulped, "What would that be?" He asked, hesitantly.

The blonde said, "Well, the little girl… Karlie looks a lot like Anna." He didn't notice how Logan's breathing got even quicker, "I kinda was wondering something."

"What would that be?" He asked, being careful with his tone, trying to make it seem regular.

"Well," Kendall started, "You're good friends with Anna again, right?" He asked.

Logan nodded, biting his lip. What should he do; tell Kendall the truth and ruin his friendship with Anna, or lie to his _best friend? _"We hang out a little, her and Camille are really good friends since she helps with the play." He replied warily.

The other boy thought for a second, "Well, I mean, Karlie is like a twin of hers –but younger." He prompted.

Logan didn't want to break a promise, nor did he want to lie to his best friend. Finally he blurted out, "What are you going at?"

Kendall gave him a look, "Well, I was just going to ask if Anna's aunt ever had a kid. I mean, that's the only way that Karlie would look like Anna."

"Um, yeah… Karlie's related to Anna." He stood up, spotting Camille in the corner of the room, "Look, Camille's setting up. I should probably go and help." Logan said before scampering off.

Carlos and James turned around, Carlos shoveling food into his mouth as he asked, "What was that about?"

Kendall thought he might as well tell them his superstitions, seeing as they were his best friends. "There's this little girl names Karlie that Camille and Logan are taking care of, and I'm teaching her hockey." He paused, "But she looks like Anna –almost like a doppelganger of her when she was five, except she has green eyes, not brown."

They both nodded, and Carlos was able to say, "Did you ever think that it's like –her Aunt's kid?" He asked, throwing his hands up.

"I asked that, Logan just said she was related to her."

James gave him a look, "Then the little girl is obviously her cousin or whatever. Her aunt probably had a kid and Logan was taking her to hockey class because we're good friends with Anna." He said in an obvious tone, and then paused to think, "Wait, we are talking about Anna –like Annabelle Peirce right? Because I zoned out for a minute."

"What other Anna do we know?" Carlos asked him with a mouthful of food.

James snapped back, "There was that Anna back in L.A that gave me her number." He pointed out, and added, "Ha!"

Kendall finally interfered and said over their voices, "Guys, shut up." Both of them looked at him, quiet, "We're twenty two, not two, don't fight over random crap."

Carlos resisted the urge to stick his tongue out and mumbled, "Yes mom."

The blonde ignored him, and faced the stage again, not speaking. James turned back around to look at him and sneakily said, "This wouldn't have to do with you kissing Anna and her beating you up, would it?"

Kendall's eyes darted to his friend, "How do you know about that?" He asked carefully.

"You weren't very quiet about it." Carlos replied, swallowing more food, "We were just standing at the top of the steps, waiting for you to cool off so we could watch the game. But we _may _have overheard you…" He taunted.

James then started to chant with him, "Anna beat up Kendall!"

Slapping both of them upside the head sharply, Kendall hissed, "Shut up." He stood up from his seat, going a few more rows back before sitting down again.

Carlos looked at James, confused, "What's his problem?"

* * *

The play had gone great, and Karlie was a bundle of joy afterwards. Camille had even told her she should keep the Belle dress for Halloween. The next few days passed, before it was Karlie's birthday.

There wasn't a party, as it was Halloween and everyone was getting ready to trick-or-treat. But Logan and Camille had come over.

The doorbell rang at around noon, and Karlie was quick to run to it. When she saw the two adults she smiled, "Uncle Logie! Aunt Cami!" She squealed, hugging them.

Camille rolled her eyes, "She's so energetic." She turned to her fiancé, "Just like me right?" She teased.

Logan thought, "Yep, but she doesn't slap me every ten minutes."

"That reminds me," Camille started, picking up Karlie, "Look what I taught her to do." She gave the little girl a wink.

With that, Karlie promptly slapped Logan across the face, before saying, "How dare you forget my birthday!" With a loud huff, crossing her little arms.

Logan stared at her, bewildered, and Karlie and Camille burst out laughing, "Uncle Logie, I know you didn't forget my birthday, I'm practicing my acting. And Auntie Cami says that in acting it's best to start with slapping someone –to get in character."

"Seriously Camille?" He asked, and the brunette nodded proudly. He sighed, "Well, we brought over some things for you." Logan pulled out two presents from behind his back, and Karlie instantly reached out to rip them open.

Anna walked in at that second, taking the presents from the girls arms, "Karlie, let's have dinner and then open presents."

The little girl frowned as Anna put the presents in a pile with the other four she had gotten from her mom. "Mom…" Karlie whined.

Finally, they went into the dining room where a small dinner was set up. Needless to say Karlie ate everything on her plate as fast as possible, and with a mouthful of food she said, "Present time!"

Anna sighed, "You are so impatient."

Karlie leaned her head to the side, "What does impatient mean?" She asked innocently, putting the present from Camille in her lap.

Logan interfered and said, "It means it's time for you to open your present from Aunt Cami." He then shook his head. This little girl was really getting to him. Since when would he refer to his fiancé as 'Aunt Cami'?

"Logan, you are such a pushover." Camille and Anna both said at the same time, and then Camille added, "You have such a soft spot for Karlie."

The smart boy shrugged, "She's really cute."

Camille then prompted, "Then maybe we should have kids…"

Anna rolled her eyes, "That's something you need to talk about –and do- in private." She ruffled her daughter's hair, "Besides, Karlie is going to explode if she doesn't open her presents."

The little girl hopped out of her seat, trying to gather the six presents in her small arms, almost dropping one. Anna went to help her, whispering, "She's so cute."

Finally, all of them were seated in the living room, Karlie sitting on Anna's lap as she fondled with Camille's present in her hand. "I can open it, right?" She asked, already picking at the tape.

Camille laughed, "Go for it."

By the time the words were out of her mouth, Karlie had ripped the wrapping paper off of the present, letting a box and a picture frame fall into her hands.

Karlie looked at the picture first, with Anna peeking over her shoulder to see it. It was a collage of pictures of her from the play. Karlie smiled, "Look, that's me!" She said, pointing to one of the pictures, smiling like crazy.

All the adults laughed at her, while she took the top off of the box. It almost slipped to the ground, but Logan caught it, handing it back to her, "It's really delicate, I wouldn't break it." He said lightly.

She looked inside, and then pulled out a fairly large glass object. Looking at it, she saw a translucent glass statue of Belle, dressed in the yellow dress Karlie loved. She turned it over, mesmerized at it, "Mommy, can I keep this in my room?" She asked.

Anna chuckled, "You can keep all your presents in your room." She had a second thought when Karlie was about to drop it again, "But this isn't a toy, you have to keep it safe."

Karlie delicately placed the statue back into the box, placing it carefully beside her and saying, "Thank you Aunt Cami!" Before tackling her into a hug. Then she turned to Logan's present.

Unwrapping it, she found a black bag. Curiously opening it, she was greeted with all the medical equipment that doctors carried around. She took out the stethoscope, placing it over Anna's heart, "I can hear your heart!" She said, amazed by it.

Anna looked at Logan, smiling and saying, "Only you would give a little girl a doctor's set." She teased.

Logan merely said, "She seems to be enjoying it." He pointed out, gesturing to where Karlie was trying to test Camille's leg reflex.

Karlie placed all of the things back into the black bag, and then reached for one of the presents from her mom. She got a Nintendo and a game to play with it, and then went for the next present, looking at the leather book that she unwrapped. "What is it?" She asked innocently.

Anna reached over and flipped the cover open, revealing pictures of Karlie and some of her after every page. "It's a picture album. When you get a picture that you like and it means something to you, you put it in here so you can look back on it one day." She pointed to the first picture, which was of her and Karlie when she was only two days old, "That what you looked like when you were just a baby, and then when you walked for the first time." She said, pointing to the other pictures. Each of them had a neatly written caption under it of when and what happen for that picture.

Karlie hugged her mom, "Thanks mommy, I wanna put some pictures from today in there." She said. "Because it's my sixth birthday, that's' a really big thing." She announced proudly.

Opening the next present, Anna held it up for her. It was a small locket, will a vine like design on the front of it. "It's a locket; you just open it," She clicked it open, "And put two pictures inside of it."

Karlie smiled, "I'm gonna put one of you in there." And with that Anna felt like her heart would melt at her daughter's words.

Camille then said, "Well, it's Halloween and I think that we should trick-or-treat."

"What about my cake?"

Anna patted her daughter's head, "We'll eat the cake when you get home. You're lucky that it's a Thursday and their having an optional teacher workday tomorrow." But Karlie was already getting up, running to her room.

"Aunt Cami, Mommy, we need to get dressed to go out!" She yelled happily.

Logan looked at Anna pointedly, "Is she like that every day?"

Anna shrugged, "Pretty much."

Soon, Anna had been able to get the beautiful yellow dress onto Karlie, and made it so her hair was hanging loose and two strands of braids were connecting in the back.

Finally she grabbed a matching yellow pillowcase and they started down the road, stopping at houses for candy. Camille seemed to have just as much fun as Karlie, asking for candy herself.

As they made their way to the tenth house, Logan spoke up.

"Anna, can I talk to you?" Logan's voice asked, and she turned around.

She nodded, and he grabbed her wrist, falling back from the group before whispering, "Well, I might have let something slip to Kendall."

Anna dropped the bag that she was holding, her mouth open in awe. "Logan! You promised that you wouldn't tell him. I was going to tell him later this week-"

Logan shushed her, "I didn't tell him that Karlie was his daughter, I just said that she was _related _to you. I couldn't just lie to my best friend."

"And you think Kendall is thick enough to not put the pieces together?"

The smart boy shrugged, "Maybe, but you just said that you were going to tell him later this week anyways, so I'm not in trouble, right?" He asked, moving to the side looking with wide eyes.

Anna had raised her hand to hit him, but she then put it down, "I would be mad at you, but I understand."

"Don't hit me!" He had started to say, but then confusion crossed his features, "Wait, you aren't mad at me?"

The girl sighed, "I told you before, I dragged you into this. I'm not going to make you lie to Kendall to keep a secret that I should have told him long ago. I would be mad if you had told him though." She added.

Logan gulped, relieved, "Thank god. Camille hits me enough!"

Anna ignored him and followed the other two girls to the next house, leaving him puzzled. Since when did Anna –guarded with steel wall Anna- want to let someone in?

* * *

Finally, they made it back home, and Karlie dumped her candy on the table, picking up a piece, ready to eat it. Anna took it from her, "You have birthday cake, that'll be enough sugar for you." She said gently, putting the sweets back in the bag.

Karlie seemed just as excited when Logan came in with a large cake, Camille attempting to take frosting off the side.

Looking at the cake, she smiled. It was a square cake that said 'Happy Birthday Karlie' in green frosting and then a pattern of hockey sticks lined the edges. Six candles lit around the cake, making the room glow. Karlie innocently said, "Can I have a hockey stick on my piece of the cake?"

Anna laughed, "Anything for the birthday girl." She said as she kissed the crown of her daughters head.

Camille then added before Karlie blew out the candles, "Make a wish and it will come true."

For a moment the little girl was silent, and then she leaned forward and blew out all six candles in one blow. "Cake time!" She announced as Logan started to cut the piece she had wanted.

Everyone got a slice of cake, leaving a fairly large cake still on the counter.

There were all silent until Anna asked, "Karlie, what did you wish for?"

Camille threw her hands up, "You can't tell your wish to people, or it won't come true!"

Karlie seemed torn, and Anna whispered, "Promise, I won't tell anyone."

The little girl leaned over and whispered into Anna's ear, "I wished I could meet daddy."

Anna looked down, gulping the lump in her throat. She needed to tell the truth finally, and she knew just how to do it. "Logan, can I drive Karlie to practice on Monday?"

He seemed confused, but nodded. "Sure."

Anna sighed, this was it. There wasn't going to be a slip up this time, she wasn't going to keep that wall up forever. And she needed to admit the truth to him. Logan was right all along: She needed to tell him. And that's what she planned to do.

Kendall would finally know the secret he had been kept from for six years, the secret that could change everything he had ever thought.

**Author's Note: More of a fill-in type of chapter, not my favorite. But I really wanted to just show Karlie's birthday, expessically her wish to see her dad. As that will take later affect.**

**I'm not telling anything about if Kendall finds out.**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!: No, I'm not stopping the story or putting it on Haitus, don't fret about that. Some of you may know from reading some previous stories that me and my sister have had many medical conditions for nearly 3 years now. But, what I need to say is I'm finally going back into school! Never would you think you miss going to school until your in a hospital for so long.**

**Anyways, I can't write as often, as I'm going to a I.B school (International Baceloreat School) and they give TONS of homework. So, every Sunday there will be an update, so I have time on Saturday to write as homework is going to clog up my week. And again, I'm very sorry about the update being so late!**

**Review, please? And for having to give you that bad announcement I'm not giving a number. Just review if you'd like to, don't if you don't... (I'd prefer if you did *wink*)**


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Yeah, I hope you're cheering for the early update. I was thinking -we've all got the superbowl on Sunday, and I have something tomorrow, so I got this one pushed out. I've got to say this chapter will most likely be very liked. I put in a Karlie/Kendall moment that was very cute in my head -maybe it was just me... Well, read on. Hope you like this! {Check out my A/N at the bottom for some exciting news.}**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 12:_

The next few days passed, until it was Monday, the dreaded day that Anna had wished to prolong. But she made a promise to herself that she would tell him; she would make her daughters wish come true. If anything mattered in this world, it was Karlie. Her daughter meant the world to her, and she wouldn't fail on her like everyone did with her. She would tell him.

Hockey practice was on Monday –coincidentally November 4th, otherwise known as Kendall's birthday. She hadn't even thought of that beforehand, but she would go through with it. That's what she repeated in her head.

Anna had to leave, but she was in her room, looking at the object in her arms. Turning it over, she looked at the hockey stick she had saved up for years ago, seeing the signatures on it. The Minnesota Wild team had signed it, and it had cost her nearly everything she had made in two years from working at the coffee shop downtown, but she had thought it was worth it.

She felt a few tears started to creep into her eyes, but she whipped her eyes.

"Mommy, we have to go! Coach Knight says he's having a private practice with me but we have to leave now." Karlie saw the tears in Anna's eyes, "What's wrong?" She asked in such a tiny little voice.

Anna pushed the tears back, standing up, bringing the hockey stick with her. "Nothing, just thinking of memories." She brushed off.

Karlie shrugged and grabbed her hand, "Come on, we gotta leave!"

Getting up, Anna went downstairs and grabbed them both coats before getting into her car. The ride over was quiet other than the sounds of Karlie playing a game on her new Nintendo. The hockey stick laid safely in the trunk.

* * *

Practice was going well, and Anna had told Karlie that she was grading papers in the car. She wasn't ready yet, and thought it'd be best for Kendall to spend time with Karlie before getting the bombshell.

Karlie and Kendall soon found that it was time to leave, and went to sit.

Kendall smiled at the little girl, "Hold on one second." He said, grinning before reaching behind the bench and pulling out a large bag.

Karlie looked at it, "You're not going to put me in there are you? Because I don't like small spaces."

The blonde laughed, "No, I'm not going to put you in it." He started to open it, "A little birdy told me that your birthday passed and I thought I'd give the best hockey player I have a present." He said, before letting her look at the blue bag.

Of course, the little girl didn't know the expression, and wildly asked, "A birdy? Was it tweedy bird? Tell him I say thank you!"

Kendall chuckled, ruffling her hair, "It's an expression. It means that someone told me your birthday passed, not a real bird." The girl frowned, "Logan told me."

She nodded, and quickly opened the large hockey bag, a bright smile on her face. Inside was her own hockey stick, a pair of brand new skates, a hockey helmet, some pucks, and a small Minnesota Wild jersey. "How did you know that I loved the Wild's?" She asked as she started to pull the jersey over her head, getting it stuck.

Once Kendall had helped her with the jersey, he shrugged, "That's my favorite team." He then pretended to whisper like it was a secret, "I was trying to get onto their hockey team when I was a teenager."

Karlie cocked her head to the side, "Why didn't you, you're a really good hockey player and a really good coach."

He smiled softly, "Well, I moved. My friend James wanted to be a singer, and a guy who could help make his dreams come true was in town, so we went there. We all had to audition, and the guy picked me to be his singer. But I wouldn't leave without my friends, so Logan, James, Carlos and I moved to L.A for a few years."

The little girl nodded along, "So you were all singers?" She asked, and he nodded, "Can you sing me a song?" Karlie asked in such an innocent little voice, that no one could ever say no to.

Kendall bit his lip, "I don't really sing anymore." That made Karlie bring out the large puppy-dog eyes, and he sighed in defeat, "Aright, but just a little bit of one of the songs." Then he proceeded to sing.

_I heard love is dangerous  
Once you fall you never get enough  
But the thought of you leaving  
Ain't so easy for me_

_Don't hurt me_  
_Desert me_  
_Don't give up on me_

_What would I wanna do that for?_

_Don't use me_  
_Take advantage of me_  
_Make me sorry I ever counted on you_

_1,2,3,4 to 5 baby, I'm counting on you_

Even Karlie noticed the sad look on his face when he sang the song, and quietly asked, "What's wrong Coach Knight?"

Kendall gulped, "It's nothing." He replied, his throat feeling tight.

Then she crossed her arms over her chest, "I know when people are lying –Aunt Cami taught me how to read expressions. You're lying, I wanna know the truth." She demanded, trying to sound tough.

He sighed, "Well, when I left to be a singer, I left someone behind. I really loved that person, and I'd probably go back and change it if I could. But at the time I thought we could keep in touch, but it was hard and I didn't want to keep leading her on when I could never see her. So I broke up with her."

Karlie frowned, "I thought if you loved someone you do anything for them."

Kendall nodded sadly, "Well, you do. That's something I really didn't think about. I really loved this girl, and when I moved back and I saw her again I felt like all I wanted was for her to feel the same way about me again. For us to go back to the way we were."

"I would talk to the person."

"I tried that. But when we were younger, I promised I'd be there for her, and then I left. And she doesn't want to let me back in because of that. I broke a lot of promises to her that I wish I could have kept." He mumbled.

Karlie thought for a moment, "Did you try and apologize?" He nodded, "Well, you shouldn't have broken promises in the first place. If you love someone then you keep your promises to them." She said with a nod of her head.

Kendall didn't know why he was spilling his secrets to a little girl. Maybe it was because the fact that if he talked to his friends, they would say to confront Anna, something even Kendall wasn't ready for yet. He'd already been down that road.

"I tried to apologize to her, but she wasn't really happy. Her parents died when she was young, so she always has been careful about people being in her life, and she was always a bit of a loner before she met me."

The little girl looked at him, "What's a loner?"

He smiled a bit, remembering back when Anna hadn't known what a loner was either, "It's a person that likes to keep to themselves: they don't have many friends."

Karlie looked even more confused, "Then how did you become her friend?"

"Well," Kendall started, "It was before her parents died, so she wasn't as careful around people. I met her in a small park that's in the woods."

"I know that place! Mommy used to take me there when I was younger."

"And we talked, and finally she opened up to me. And I told her that I'd be her brother, and be there for her. When I left I broke that. So now this girl is really mad at me and doesn't want me to talk to her…" He then mumbled, "She wouldn't be so guarded if her parents hadn't died."

Karlie frowned, "I know that feeling, my daddy left before I was born. Mommy said that he would have loved me if he was here, but if he loved me wouldn't he be here?" She asked, tearing up.

Kendall got a little uncomfortable, and patted Karlie's shoulder in comfort, and whispered, "Hey, don't cry. My dad died when I was only eleven, he was my best friend. I don't think I was ever the same since then."

The dark haired child raised her head, tears still lingering on her cheeks, "But my daddy has never even met me. I never got to spend time with him or have fun with him like other kids. When I did the play for Aunt Cami, all the other kids had dads in the crowd, but I didn't." She said, sadly.

Kendall didn't know what else to do put pat her head. "Hey, it's alright. You've got Aunt Camille and Uncle Logan… Where did your dad moved to anyways?"

Karlie scrunched her face, "I don't know, Mommy told me he left because he was going to help a friend of his with something. When I asked if he would come back, she said that she didn't know."

He smiled weakly at her, "If he loved your mom, then he'll come back. He may have made mistakes and will come back later to fix them. He'll come back one day." Why did it sound like he was describing his situation with Anna more than giving words of comfort?

She looked down, "That's what I wished for." Kendall gave her a questioning look, "I wished on my candles that he would come back and be with us again."

Kendall patted her arm, "Then he'll come back. If I learned anything, it's that family is the most important thing in anyone's life. You should be able to rely on them," A knot twisted in his stomach, "I wish I had known that before."

Karlie saw the pain on his face, "I'm sure that this person would forgive you one day. I mean, if daddy came home one day and I got to meet him, I would be mad he hadn't done it earlier. But at least he would have come back." She said.

He chuckled, "You sound like Logan; you're pretty smart for your age."

She smiled at the compliment, "That's what my teacher tells me. Mommy has a little book that she hides in her dresser drawer of quotes and things like that and I read it. I found a diary once I think, but I didn't understand the words because I was just learning to read. But I think that some of it was about Daddy." Karlie said. "It's gone now, I've looked for it to find out more about him, like his name and what he looks like, but mommy must have moved it."

Kendall sighed, "You sound like my little sister when you talk about invading privacy."

She shrugged, "What's your little sister's name? Is she my age?" She asked, suddenly excited to think that she could make another friend.

He chuckled, "Her name is Katie, and she lives in California with my mom though. She's sixteen." He added. "You'd probably become just as sneaky as her if you hung out with her for a day. I haven't seen her in a few months though, she must look different."

"Do you think that she misses you?" Karlie blurted out.

Kendall seemed a little shocked at the question, but answered, "Probably, she and my mom were always with dependent on me since dad died. But she's a strong girl, and she'll be alright. She's coming to Logan's wedding in April and I'm might go and visit them before that though."

Suddenly his phone vibrated in his hockey bag and he got a text from Logan's number:

_Come outside, need to talk with you._

He sighed, turning to the little girl, "Logan wants me to talk to him outside. Why don't you finish up with putting your skates away and then you can come out." He suggested and the little girl nodded.

Getting up, he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the rink.

* * *

Seeing Kendall walk from the rink, Anna took a deep breath. Camille had helped her _borrow_ Logan's phone this morning when they had breakfast. He had been showing Karlie his doctor's coat and she had been able to slip his phone from his pocket.

Knowing Logan –he wouldn't be mad for long though. He would probably be happy if anything, that she was telling the truth. No more secrets between anyone.

She cut the ignition, and stepped out of the car, seeing Kendall look around for Logan. Little did he know. Before she went to him, she grabbed something out of the truck.

Anna took the steps that seemed to take so long to reach the blonde boy. "Kendall." She said carefully.

He turned around to face her, "Anna." He stated. "What do you want?"

Anna walked over to Kendall. "I need to talk to you." She started.

He gave her a look, "I thought you didn't ever want to speak with me again." He retorted, pulling a hockey bag over his shoulder. "And last time I tried to talk to you, I ended up going home with a busted lip."

She took a breath, "I want to start off by saying Happy Birthday."

Kendall chuckled, "You hate me, why wish me a happy birthday?"

Anna shrugged, "I told you, I don't _hate_ you: it's fairly impossible for someone to hate Kendall Knight." She said putting quotes over his name, "And I wanted to give you this." She took the hockey stick from behind her back.

He seemed mesmerized by it for a moment, but snapped out of it, "What's the catch?" He asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows, "There isn't a catch Kendall," He scoffed at that, "This is my apology to you. You're not the only one that did things that they regret. And I need to make them right; I might as well get off on the right foot."

Kendall pushed the hockey stick back into her hands, "Apology not excepted; when you can tell me what your hiding, that's when I'll accept your apology." He said, starting to head back to the doors.

"I need to tell you something." But he didn't respond. She sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy on either of them. As he started to walk away, she called, "It's about that secret –what I was really going to tell you before we broke up."

That caught his interest and he turned back around, leaning on the wall, "Alright, I'll bite. What's the secret?"

Anna let out a soft laugh, "It's not that simple Kendall, I can't just _randomly _say my secrets to you."

Kendall looked at her, "If you're going to tell me, tell me. Because you really are just making me hate you playing these games."

He started to move again, but she put a hand on his shoulder, "Kendall, wait. I'm going to tell you, I just need to find the right way…"

Kendall gave her a confused look, "Anna, I'm not playing anymore games. Either you tell me or I leave, it's as simple as that. I refuse to go down this road where you act so guarded. But either you remember that trust you had for me before –or I'm going home." He said, getting into her face. "You trusted me once." He reminded.

Anna flinched a bit at the words, "Kendall, I'm still not sure that I trust you-" She started.

He began to move away, "Then there's nothing to talk about."

"-But I realize that before this, I did trust you. And I'm going to stop lying to you about everything, because I have had a lot more happen in the past six years than you think." He motioned for her to continue.

She took a deep breath, "What happened about a month before you left?" She prompted.

He thought, "You played hockey for the first time, Carlos almost broke his leg…. We had our anniversary."

Anna nodded, "And do you remember everything that happened then?" He nodded.

Taking one last deep breath, she started to say, "Kendall, you're a-" But she got interrupted.

Karlie walked up behind them, beaming happily, "Mommy, look what Coach Knight got me for my birthday!" She said happily, carrying a large bag.

Anna's breath hitched in her throat, and her head slowly turned to Kendall.

Only one word escaped his lips, "Mommy?"

She looked at him, finally bringing out the courage that she had never had before, "Kendall, meet your daughter."

The only sound was of something heavy hitting the concrete, and then a striking silence.

**Author's Note: Twenty bucks bet that everyone is thinking: _"Finally!"_ Well, I decided a nice little cliff hanger was in order. I'll be seeing you next Sunday to find out his reaction! That has got to be fun for both me and you guys... hmm.**

**I know, that it didn't show Kendall's reaction, but the next chapter is ONLY on his reaction really, so it'll make up for it!**

**Review, I want to try and keep our twenty a chapter streak, but if not, that's fine. I've got a feeling that this or the next chapter will get more reviews as this was the most anticipated event in the story -and don't worry, it won't end after this. This story is going to _definatly _make it to 20 chapters, even more chapters probably. I've got lots of knots to tie and lots of cracks to fill.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: We're over 200 reviews! That's so amazing, and again thank you so much for making that happen! I really hope this lives up to expectations! And 20 for the last chapter, which exceeds all expectations!**

**I hope you like the early update again, and this time I'll be adding a propisition at the bottom...**

**This chapter took the longest to write -and it's the longest chapter at over 5,000 words. I'm really proud of this chapter though, my favorite so far actually. I really hope you like it, because I spent the most time I ever have on this chapter:**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 13:_

"_Kendall, meet your daughter."_

_The only sound was of something heavy hitting the concrete, and then a striking silence._

The hockey bag that Kendall had been holding fell to the ground at Anna's words, making a loud thud. Then the parking lot was engulfed in a silence. Kendall's mouth was open in shock, his eyes large green orbs.

Anna was just as shocked at the words that came from her mouth, her face a perfect poker face as she waited for his response, though she already knew it.

From what she'd learned over the years, there were five stages of shock that were very similar to those of grief.

* * *

Frist stage. Denial:

Karlie looked up at Kendall, and then to Anna with confused eyes, looking very similar to Kendall in that moment. And then she looked back at Kendall again, "Daddy?" She whispered, so low they could barely hear it.

When the little girl approached him, Kendall snapped out of his trance and backed up, "I'm not a dad." He whispered.

Anna looked at him, "Kendall, you are. That's why everything has been so confusing. I didn't know whether you would just run off on us or stay."

He stumbled back again, "No, I'm not a father. I've been in L.A for years, I can't be a father." Kendall mumbled.

She took a step towards him, "Six and a half years Kendall. Think about it for a minute." Anna said quietly as he stepped backwards again.

It made sense; the math in his head was pointing him the right way. Karlie was six, which fit into a perfect time line. "I'm not her father." He said again, "I can't be a father."

Karlie looked at him with eyes that he'd never really noticed until now. The same green eyes that he had were staring up at him, tearing up. "Dad?" She asked again, a tear falling down her cheek as she tried to move closer to him.

Kendall stepped back once more, "Anna, Karlie isn't my kid. I don't have any kids. I'm just a hockey coach."

Anna shook her head, "Kendall, Karlie is you child. Whether you believe it or not, she is yours. If you need a DNA test, then you can get one. But I can tell by just looking at you two that you're related. You both have the same eyes." She whispered.

He reached up to cup his head in his hands, "No Anna. You've got the wrong guy. I don't have any kids; Karlie is so other guy's kid."

"Kendall, she's your daughter."

When he shook his head again, there was a sob that filled the air.

Karlie was standing between the two, curled with her knees to her chest on the cold pavement. Her eyes filled with tears that streamed down her cheeks. Anna moved to go to her daughter to comfort her, but Karlie pushed her hand off, "No!" She yelled, half sobbing as she ran across the lot, and got into the car, lying down and crying even more.

Anna looked at Kendall. "You need to believe me Kendall. You told me the other day family meant more to you than anything –that you'd do anything for your family." She then pointed to her car where Karlie was still sobbing, "That's your _daughter_ that you just made cry. She's wanted to meet you for _years_. Ever since she could say a full sentence she would ask about her dad. Do you know how many times I had to _lie_ to her because you were gone?" She yelled at him, tears forming in her own eyes.

Kendall saw her crying, wanting nothing more than to be able to walk over and make the tears disappear. "Anna, that's not my kid." He repeated for what felt like the millionth time, as if that was the only thing he could say in the situation.

She looked at him, "Yes it is Kendall. Do you not understand that? Karlie may look like me, but if you ever _once _look into her eyes you know that she's your child. She has your personality Kendall; she's you as a kid, but looks like me."

* * *

Then, there was the second stage. Anger:

Kendall finally snapped at her, "Anna, shut the hell up!" He yelled. "I don't care what you say any longer. You've lied to me so much that I don't think you have an ounce of honesty in your body!" He screamed back at her.

Anna flinched back for a second, but then took a step forward. She didn't care if he would hate her for everything else she did, but she refused to have him yell at her because of his denial. Surprisingly, she yelled back at him, "No Kendall, I'm not shutting up. Because I don't care if you don't want to believe it, but Karlie is your daughter. No one else's, this is something that _you_ have to understand. This is some that you need to step up and take responsibility for: she's your daughter."

He retorted, "Maybe I would have believed you if you had told me!" He took a long breath before continuing to yell at her, "It's been six years –six years! If she is my kid, then why am I only hearing this now? Huh? Why not tell me before I left?"

"Because I didn't know!" She said, choking on a sob as more tears came up, "I didn't know until the day before you broke up with me." Anna stopped to wipe away a tear, "There, happy? That's what I was going to tell you! That I was pregnant with your child! But you broke up with me and never answered when I tried to call you again! It's not like it didn't try and tell you –this is part your fault too!"

Kendall glared at her, "How is this my fault that you didn't tell me the second that you found out? I would have probably come back, because I thought you were worth loving." His green eyes seemed to get darker, "Now I know that you just keep secrets from people until it convenient for you to tell them. Or maybe you only told me because Karlie called you mommy!" He bellowed.

Anna started to freely cry, letting the tears fall down her face. The cold air blowing against her face; making her shiver a bit. But that didn't help the tears, "I tried to tell you before! I would have told you when you came to my house, but then I realized how many promises you didn't keep and I was angry." She said back.

He scoffed, "Angry? I think that whatever anger you had for me couldn't compete with how much I hate you now. You kept a secret from me for six years!"

She retorted, "You didn't talk to me for six years! You abandoned me and your unborn child. Is that what you are going to do again Kendall? Leave, ignore me, just pretend nothing happened."

"I didn't know it would hurt you!" Kendall said back, his tone going back to normal range, still slightly loud though.

Anna still had tears falling down her face, "Kendall, you were my life! I trusted you more than I trusted myself. If I didn't have Karlie I probably would be a mess. I would be stuck in that black hole. I'm not out of it, but I'm not at the bottom any longer."

"Stop it." He mumbled.

"Stop what?"

Kendall finally started to yell again, the anger flaring back up, "Stop trying to use some pity factor! You want pity? Fine you have it!"

Anna stepped away from him, "I never have –and never will- want pity Kendall. You have no idea how much pity I've gotten. First when my parents died, and then when people found out I was pregnant. And that pity turned into scorning. My own Aunt threw me out of her house because she thought I was a disgrace: I had a baby out of wedlock." She spat bitterly, tears falling down her cheeks, "Don't you dare think I want pity, what I want is for you to understand."

He tried to calm down, but waves of anger still radiated in the air, "Understand? Anna, you just told me I have had a kid for six years and never knew. All I am going to give you is anger at this point."

She sighed, "Go ahead and hate me." Kendall looked up confused, "But don't hate Karlie. She is your daughter, she's crying because you refuse to face reality. Kendall, I thought you were strong –well, be strong for her." Anna said.

"You're right," She seemed to perk up a bit, "I should hate you."

"Fine, just at least don't leave Karlie without a father." Anna replied, trying to keep calm, "She can't be torn anymore."

He shook his head, "I'm not ready for kids Anna. Maybe if I had time to get this to sink in, then I'd understand. But I can't do that."

"Please."

* * *

The third stage. Bargaining:

"Use Logan." Kendall spat back, "He'll help you take care of her. Just pretend that he's her father, she wouldn't know the difference. Maybe he can handle this, but I can't."

Anna threw her hands up, "And lie to her? Again?" She screamed back. "I am done with all this lying! I can't take it; it is ripping me open to have to lie to everyone."

He then retorted, "Then why do you keep lying to me?"

She sighed heavily, looking down. "I'm afraid to face the truth, does it make you happy to hear that? I don't like having to stop and stare at the things in front of me and know they are real." Anna glanced at him, "But there is a difference in me and you Kendall. You were the brave person who helped even a stranger. And I need your help."

Kendall narrowed his eyes, "Anna, just have someone else help. I told you; I'm not a dad. I'll do whatever else, but I can't become a dad." He tried to bargain "That's not me!"

"Seeing as you _are _a dad, you need to take care of your own child. Don't you dare just shun away and tell me to lie that Logan is her father!" She finished, hissing at him.

"Then tell her it's someone else! It doesn't have to be Logan." He thought for a second, "Tell her it's… Carlos or James. Carlos loves kids; he'd be a perfect dad!"

Anna hit him in the arm, "Don't you dare do that! You're just going to pawn this off on one of your friends? What happened to the Kendall that I knew?" She asked, "He would never have pined something on one of his friends, he would keep them in mind when he did things, not trying to make them do his work for him."

"You're the one who had a kid and didn't tell me." Kendall said again.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "I told you, I tried to." She huffed, "You can blame me for a lot of things, but not for that. I at least _tried_ to do what was right; I tried to tell you-"

He cut her off, "Then why not tell me when I moved back?"

Anna just ignored him and continued where she left off, "You aren't trying to do the right thing. Family, friends, love; those were the things you cherished before. Where's the guy that I met when I was five? Where is the guy that helped me when my parents died and was a brother to me? Where's the guy I was in love with?" She asked, "Because he wouldn't be doing this, he'd be accepting it."

Kendall shouted, "I can't just act like everything is fine when I find out I have a daughter! I can't just accept that. Put this on someone else, not me." He nearly begged, his head leaning back in frustration.

She placed a comforting hand on Kendall's arm, "I can't lie to anyone anymore. This is your responsibility to make it right now. I can't do anything to change your mind." She turned away from him, walking away. When she turned back, tears clouded her eyes, "You need to think of your daughter's interests before your own."

He just mumbled back, "Leave me alone."

She started to say, "Think about it-"

But before she could finished, he yelled, "Leave Annabelle!" She was shocked at hearing him use her full name, having not heard that since she was little. "I never want to see you again. Don't bring Karlie to hockey practice anymore, don't try and fix what's done. Just leave."

Anna complied, going to her car, and leaning against it, hearing the sobs from within it. From that, she wept.

Kendall was going to his car, and Anna watched as he got in and drove off.

* * *

When Anna pulled into the driveway, both she and Karlie were still in tears.

She turned around to look at her crying daughter, and said, "Karlie, I'm so sorry." And just the hurt look on the little girls face made her cry even more. Reaching back, she touched her arm, "You shouldn't have had to go through that, I'm so sorry."

Karlie retaliated at her touch and pulled away from her, "Leave me alone!" She yelled between sobs, getting out of the car and running into the house.

Anna had never seen Karlie angry at anyone, defiantly not her.

Grabbing the keys from the engine, looking once more at the bag of hockey equipment Karlie had gotten from Kendall, and then getting out of the car.

Once Anna got into the house, she didn't see Karlie anywhere. Walking upstairs, she went along the hall to the room that used to be her own when she was young, but was now Karlie's. She knocked on the door carefully, "Karlie, are you in there?"

She heard the faint sounds of crying from inside the room, and Anna tried to open the door, but the knob only jiggled in response, the lock keeping her from entering.

Karlie's crying was still faint from inside the room, and Anna said through the door, "Karlie, open up. We need to talk." She carefully spoke to her daughter inside the room.

The crying stopped for a second before Karlie's voice wailed, "Leave me alone!" Before the sound of the mattress squeaking as the little girl rolled over in her bed came over the silence.

But Anna sighed, "Karlie, I need to talk to you. I need to explain everything, just open the door, please." She nearly begged to Karlie, her tears streaming down her cheeks.

Karlie repeated in a cracked voice, "Leave me alone, I just want to be alone!"

Choking on tears, Anna reached up, getting on her toes to reach above the doorframe and retrieve the key that lay there. Putting it in the lock, she finally opened the door.

Karlie's room was simple for the most part, she liked the color green and the walls were that color. Minnesota Wild posters and flags were plastered on the walls, and on her dresser was a picture of her and Anna smiling from her birthday.

On the bed, hidden under the Wild's covers, Karlie was crying. Anna walked over to the twin size bed and sat at the end, pulling the covers from over Karlie's head.

The little girl tried to pull the covers back over her head, but Anna held them, "We need to talk." She said again.

Karlie looked at her, green eyes clouded with tears, "You lied to me! You said daddy wasn't here!" She screamed, burying her face into her pillow.

Anna tried to get Karlie to face her, but she wouldn't budge. "He wasn't here when you first asked about him where he was –when you were four years old. I didn't lie, he was gone."

"Then why not tell me when he came back then?" Karlie's muffled voice came from the pillow.

When Anna tried to brush the tears away from the little girls face Karlie swatted it away. "You lied!" She cried out again.

Anna tried to think of a simple way to explain this, "I didn't want to tell you right away because Ken- daddy didn't know. He left before he knew about you, before I even knew I was pregnant."

Karlie looked at her, those green eyes looking strikingly similar to the ones when Kendall was mad at her. The glint in their eyes that looked like a flame behind them, the same way their mouths made a perfect straight line. It was something Anna had never had a chance to think about.

Finally, Karlie said, "You didn't tell him though! He was teaching me hockey and you never told me him was my dad!" She yelled through tears.

Anna frowned, feeling so guilty for everything. Everyone was angry because of her actions. Even her six year old daughter knew the right thing to do when she didn't. "Sweetie, you have no idea how hard it would be to tell him that his daughter was a girl he was coaching. He doesn't want to believe it even now, your father is a brave man though, and a smart man. He will do the right thing." She promised, kissing Karlie's hair.

Karlie pushed her away, "Leave me alone! You're a liar! You promised you'd never lie to me, all I've ever wanted was to have a daddy. And it's your fault that I don't!" She screamed.

"Karlie," Anna said softly, "I'm so sorry."

"Leave!" Anna reached forward to touch Karlie's arm in comfort, but she pushed her away, "I hate you!" She screeched, burying her face into the pillow, "Just leave!"

Anna felt the three words sting as they sunk in, _I hate you._ She had never really realized how much three words could change something, for the better or worse.

Stepping away from the little girl, tears that felt like acid ran down her face as she went to the door. Looking once more at the crying girl, Anna closed the door before running to her own room and starting to really sob.

Still crying, but finally not gasping for air, Anna grabbed the house phone off the nightstand, dialing a familiar number.

"_Hello._"

Sobbing into the receiver, Anna choked out, "Logan, I don't know what to do."

* * *

Now stage four. Depression:

Kendall drove back to his house a week later, and didn't notice how Logan was looking out the window of his living room to see when he got in. The blonde boy got out of his car, and went inside his house without a sound though.

He hadn't tried to not think about Anna or Karlie, but it was impossible.

Going upstairs, Kendall flopped onto his king-sized bed holding his head. He heard his stomach growl in hunger, as he hadn't eaten all day.

He didn't care, lying on his back, a subconscious a tear ran down his cheek. What was happening? One second he was in shock, then he's angry, then he's trying to pin it on his friends. And now he's… sad? Why was he sad? More importantly, what was he sad about?

Kendall thought about it.

Metaphorically, if Karlie was indeed his daughter, that meant he missed six years of her life.

He had missed her being born.

Her first word.

Her first steps.

Her first time riding a bike.

Her first day at school.

Her first everything. The only thing that he'd been there for was to teach her hockey. That did make him feel better though; if he ever had a kid, he'd want to be the person to teach them to play hockey. Just like his dad did to him.

He finally noticed the tears streaming down his cheeks, and tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming.

For hours he lay on his bed, looking at the blank ceiling, thinking about it. He finally understood what Anna felt like when he left: the black hole that swallows you in your sadness. It makes you feel like all you want to do is sit in an empty room and cry.

"Kendall." A cautious voice started to say, but he didn't reply.

Logan's voice said again from the front of the doorway, "Kendall." He stayed quiet, his friend's voice seeming far off when he was enclosed inside his own thoughts.

Sitting on the side of the bed, Logan said for the third time, "Kendall." But he still didn't say or do anything in response. It was like a corpse sitting in front of him.

Logan pushed Kendall lightly in the leg just enough to usually get someone's attention, but the boy didn't budge. He nudged him again, "Kendall, come on. It's been a week since you've talked to anyone. Just say something."

Of course, Kendall didn't reply to his words, not moving from where he lay.

Sighing, Logan pushed him once again, "You need to talk, I know that you got surprised when Anna told you, but you know holding it in will only make it harder to let it out."

When Kendall finally spoke, his voice was low and raspy, having not spoken since seeing Anna a week ago. "You knew." He rasped.

Logan's face fell, "Kendall, I couldn't tell you, I promised Anna."

Kendall didn't reply to him for a while, and then said weakly, "Everything just revolves around Anna now I guess."

"What do you mean?"

Finally the blonde turned to face the other boy, "Anna couldn't get up the courage to tell me, but she told you. You're not even sorry that you kept it from me. I've never lied to you or any of the other guys, yet you lie about something as important as my own daughter. You get to know, but I don't. Doesn't that seem wrong to you?"

Logan frowned, "I didn't want to keep secrets from you Kendall, and trust me, I never have before because I'm usually bad at lying. And Anna never told me, I figured out on accident, truthfully I wouldn't have wanted to know until you did."

Kendall mumbled, "Why should I believe what you or Anna say any longer? You just keep lying to me. I thought that you were a better friend than that."

"I am, I'm just trying to be a good friend to both of you. Anna hasn't had a friend since we left, she needs me –correction, she needs all of us, not just me." The brunette boy said.

"Go then, be her friend." Logan looked at him strangely, "Leave me alone, I don't want anyone anymore. Just leave." He deadpanned.

Logan was a little shocked, and he questioned, "Are you alright?" He didn't reply. "Are you depressed?" Logan suddenly asked.

Kendall glanced at him, the first sign of emotion in his eyes; confusion. "No." He immediately said turning a little bit.

Logan may not have been trying to get a psychiatric degree, but he could tell when his friend was lying to him. "You're lying, I can tell."

The other boy huffed, "I am not depressed!"

"Yeah, you are Kendall. Tell me what's wrong." Logan insisted.

"First off, I'm not depressed." Kendall paused and when his friend gave him a look, "I just don't like this…" He mumbled.

Then the brunette prodded, "You don't like what?"

Kendall looked him in the eyes, "This feeling. The feeling that I wasn't there. I mean, if Karlie is my daughter, then I missed everything in her life. I just don't like that."

Logan frowned a bit, "Yeah, you did miss her life. But what you should do is go and make it right. Maybe you don't like Anna right now, but let Karlie have a father. Remember the pain that you went through when your father died?" Kendall nodded, "Think of what you did to her. Karlie feels like that right now, you denied it in front of her when she just found out that you were her father. She feels like she lost you. She won't talk to Anna at all, she's ignoring everyone. Just like you did when you lost your dad."

He glanced at Logan, "How did you know that? About Karlie I mean." He murmured.

The boy frowned sadly, "Anna called me after she told you, when they got home. She was bawling into the phone and Karlie had locked herself in her room. When Anna went in there Karlie was crying and yelled at her for not telling her and then said that she hated Anna... She screamed at Anna that she hated her." Logan repeated.

Kendall's face fell a little. He had told Anna the same thing that day. He knew that having someone say that they hate you hurts more than anything else, like breaking a promise, but ten times worse. And to have two people say it in one day must have felt terrible. "She did?" He asked, the numbness in his body seeming to go away a little at the words. Being replaced by the faint feeling of guilt.

Logan nodded his head, "Anna was crying, I had to go over and comfort her for nearly three hours before she stopped crying. When I tried to talk to Karlie, she told me that she hated me too. She's upset that Anna didn't tell her, and she's even more upset about how you denied that you were her father. Because you really are Kendall."

The blonde boy frowned, "I don't understand it, how can I be a father without knowing. My dad said that he knew the second I was born that I was his son –and he wasn't there for it. He said when he saw me in the infirmary he knew I was his kid. But I never really saw Karlie as my kid, I saw her as a little girl that looked like Anna-"

"-But has green eyes," Logan finished, "Think about it for a second and then tell me anyone else that Anna knew that had those color of green eyes." When there was no response, Logan continued, "Exactly. Karlie is your daughter, and once you accept that you'll know what to do." He wisely finished.

Kendall sighed, "You're not going to tell me what to do?" Logan chuckled and shook his head, "Great, the one time that I need you to tell me what to do, you go and say I need to figure it out on my own. I thought you were the smart one."

Logan smiled just the littlest bit, "Well, if I was in your shoes I'd be asking you what to do, but you'd tell me the same thing; I've got to find it out on my own." He pat Kendall's shoulder, "But don't leave Karlie without a dad, that's the only thing you've got to promise me. She's a good kid, and she was torn apart after she found out you were her dad and you denied it. It was like she'd lost you forever. Promise?"

Kendall thought for a second, and finally said, "Yeah, I promise."

Finally a bright smile went across the smart boys face, "That's all I've got to say." He stared to walk out the bedroom door, but then he turned back around, "One more thing –stop being a poster child for _Prozac._" He said seriously.

Kendall couldn't help but smile and laugh a little, "Thanks Logan."

Logan smiled back at him, "You'll do the right thing: you always do."

With that, the brunette boy walked out the door, and soon the sound of his footfalls was gone. Finally Kendall's numbness was completely gone, and it was fully powered over with guilt and hurt. And now, he wasn't in a black hole because of numbness, but one of hurt and depression.

But one thing seemed to shine through that hurt. It was the feeling of having a family. He had missed seeing his mom and Katie, and the guys were still his family. But he now has a true family, whether or not he knew it right now.

He had Anna and Karlie, even if he didn't know it.

* * *

Anna was at home, making diner. Karlie wouldn't come out of her room at all, school and using the bathroom being the only exception. She ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in her room. No amount of convincing that Anna did made her come downstairs to eat. And when she ate, it was a very small amount.

A week from the incident was the same, Karlie refused to do anything, even hockey. She wouldn't speak to Anna or play with her friends. She stayed secluded inside her room. In the night there were sounds of crying coming from the room. And at that sound, the house was filled with cries in the night until the Peirce family fell asleep crying.

One day right after dinner, the doorbell rang. Logan or Camille had visited every day, so she assumed it was one of them. Anna got up from the desk she was drawing at, and went down the hallway.

It seemed that everything was terrible in the household. There wasn't a word spoken between the mother and daughter since Karlie had screamed at her. Anna didn't think she could take the pain of having her daughter saying she hated her again, so she decided to wait for Karlie to talk to her first. Of course, it didn't happen yet.

Opening the door, she was shocked to see Kendall standing there.

* * *

Finally, stage five. Acceptance:

"Anna, I believe you."

**Author's Note: I know that there isn't 5 stages of shock -which I could have really used in the story- so I used the 5 stages of grief. I just want to point that out because I know that I would have people saying that my facts were wrong. I actually really liked making Kendall be angry about it for a long time, which is weird. But, I hope I did good on it.**

**To the propistion. I'll say this:**

**If I get OVER 20 reviews, I'll update Sunday (As in _this_ Sunday -only have to wait 3 days!) Sound like a good thing? It doesnt matter if it's 21 or 30 - thought I'd probably update tomorrow if I got more than that! **

**Anyways, review. I would like to get the 20, but if you guys didn't like my writting style in this chapter you don't have to review. It's all up to you.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I kept my promise to update today and I also am updating VERY early today -having that said it is around 12:00am where I live. This chapter was fun to write though. Because it not only contains a Kendall/Karlie scene, but also a semi -maybe a little- romantic start for Kendall/Anna. As their relationship is the next part to this story, now that we've gotten over the first big bump...**

**-Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter so much! 27 is a new record for any chapter I've ever written!**

**Anyways, read on, and I hope you enjoy it.**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 14:_

"_Anna, I believe you."_

Was it shock that crossed Anna's face at the sentence? Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came from her mouth. She just stood there in complete and utter shock.

Kendall looked at her and he repeated, "I believe you." His green eyes shining with honesty in them. But his face was a clear poker face, a blank expression. You'd never notice any emotion if you hadn't looked inside his eyes.

Anna moved from the doorway, letting him come inside the door. Still, no words escaped her mouth.

He walked in, going to the kitchen. When both of them were finally sitting across from each other, Anna spoke up, "You believe me?" She asked hesitantly.

Kendall nodded, though his face was still blank, "Yes, I mean…" He fumbled for words, "I believe that Karlie is my child, I can accept that, I'm still working on the whole dealing with it process."

Anna gave a sigh of relief, "Thank you, for believing me Kendall, but I think it's too late for that." She said sadly, a tear falling from her eye, followed by another, and another.

"I know what Karlie said." A flash of confusion was in her eyes, and he explained, "Logan isn't good at keeping secrets."

She laughed sadly, tears still streaming, and Kendall notice how the laugh seemed forced. "That's Logan."

Kendall reached over and cautiously touched her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, "Anna, I don't think it's too late. Karlie doesn't hate you, she is just mad, and you're the one that she's taking it out on. That's what I did when my dad died; you did that when your parents died. And I made it seem like she had lost her father before, I admit that. But we can fix it."

Anna looked down and her clouded eyes tracing the wood pattern of the table. "I really don't think it can be fixed. I've never seen Karlie angry at all –let alone flat out furious. It is breaking me, having both of you say you hate me in the same day."

He could see her breaking down at the seams, and switched seats at the table to where he was beside her. Slowly he put an arm around her, engulfing her in a hug. "I'm sorry Anna." He mumbled, and even he was surprised at how he kissed her hair to comfort her. "I know sorry doesn't work well, but I am really sorry."

She just cried in response. When Kendall had known her before, he had only seen her cry when her parents died. Anna was a strong girl, and she took both emotional and physical pain well. It had been years since she had really flat out cried. The only time had been a week ago, but those tears were nothing compared to these.

Anna was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her and comforted her, especially because a week ago he had said that he hated her. She was even more baffled at the fact that he had kissed her hair, like he used to do to calm her down, whether she was sad, angry or any other strong emotion. It made her feel more at home in a sense.

The warm arms that were around her made her calm down a bit, the choking sobs, turned into just free falling tears. Kendall mumbled, "Anna, it'll be alright."

Anna buried her face into his chest, and his chin rest on her head. She said through the tears, "How do you know that? You've never had people hate you."

He bit his lip, "You're right," He agreed, "I haven't had people hate me before. But don't really think that you have people hate you. It was a heat of the moment thing." Kendall tried to explain.

The dark haired girl had a sob that made her hiccup, "Heat of the moment? You told me you hated me because you don't like not knowing secrets, and then Karlie told me she hated me because she felt abandoned by you." She sighed sadly, "It's not heat of the moment, it's more of the fact that everyone needs a person to blame, and I'm that person."

Kendall couldn't help but chuckle and Anna pushed him a bit for it, "It's that Logan said the same thing about Karlie –that she needed someone to blame, and it was you."

Anna smiled a bit as an old memory arose, "I remember you told me that I was like Logan. When we met, you told me I sounded smart like him." A few tears ran down her cheeks, "I wish we could have stayed like that." She whispered, but Kendall faintly heard her say it.

He nodded, "Me too." He whispered, but like he had heard her, she had heard him. "I wish we could have Anna," Kendall started, "But we couldn't always be five year olds, or six, or any age. And we've got to take what comes and keep on going."

"-Leaning on each other's shoulders." She mumbled, and he looked at her. "It's from your first song as Big Time Rush; I remember I would listen to that song to remember you guys."

Kendall chuckled, "I didn't mean to reference that, but it works too." Anna half laughed, while still crying, "What I mean to say is that I promise I won't leave. Karlie deserves a father, probably one better than me, but I'm going to try and make it work. We'll get through it –all three of us will." He corrected, not able to see the small smile playing at the corner of Anna's lips.

"You're going to be here?" Anna asked, like it was the farthest thing she could have thought of.

Kendall smiled, feeling like he had finally done the right thing. "I'm gonna help, yeah." He took a long breath, looking down at her, not able to see her face because it was turned to the side and her ear was pressed against his chest, listening to his heart. "But I just want to say I'm not great with kids." He mumbled.

Anna raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see, the tears not gone, but had subsided so that she wasn't _constantly _having them run down her face. "You teach kid's hockey, how can you be bad with kids?" She asked with a small tone of sarcasm in her voice.

He rolled his eyes, "That's hockey, it isn't bad to teach kids hockey to people who are willing to learn. It's different than taking care of a kid every day and having to do things like… making sure homework is done, get them to do chores, keep them active."

She added, "You forgot feeding them, cleaning the house, washing clothes." Anna mumbled.

Kendall scoffed at her, "Those are mom jobs; dads don't cook."

Anna then made sure to point out what jobs a dad would have to do, "Dad jobs… hmm, what about things like these? Mowing the lawn, waking them up for school, getting them to school and after-school things, and doing the 'mom jobs' when the mom is away."

The blonde guy frowned and he said, "Sounds like the dad does more than the mom."

She laughed, "I'm sure that after six years of doing mom _and_ dad jobs the dad can do some extra work." Anna retaliated, and for the first time since he got there her voice sounded _happy._

Kendall ruffled her hair, "That's not my fault I wasn't there." He reminded, and even though he couldn't see her face, he still knew that the smile had fallen into a frown, "But now I can help." He finished, trying to make the mood better.

Anna sighed, "I know that you still blame me Kendall, and I don't see a reason why you shouldn't. I should have told you the second you got back, and I didn't. I think it's my turn to say sorry." She said, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, and I think it's pretty important that I say that, because I really am. If anyone has to apologize for their actions, it's me."

He was quiet for a few moments, "I think we both did things that we regret, but we need to stop saying sorry for things. As long as we both already know that we're sorry, then we need to just focus on what's happening now and stop hanging onto the past."

Anna nodded, "I agree."

Kendall smiled, "How about we put everything behind us, for Karlie's sake? Pretend like the last six years didn't happen, and try and work this out." He proposed.

Slowly she nodded, but her voice said, "Kendall, I can forgive but I can't forget. I will do everything I can for Karlie, but that doesn't mean that I can just forget everything that's happened; everything that we've both done."

He thought about it, "Neither can I really, but we've just got to get along. And it seems like right now we're not getting at each other's throats."

Anna hit him in the arm lightly, "Just when I thought we were having a bonding moment, you go and ruin it… classic Kendall." She mumbled.

Kendall smiled a bit, thinking it may work, "So, what do we do now?"

She sighed once more, "Karlie won't talk to me, unless you've got a way to change that, there's really nothing we _can_ do."

He frowned for a second, "I think I can fix that, I'm good with talking to kids."

Anna looked up at him, slightly amused, "I thought you were bad with kids." She teased lightly.

Kendall rolled his eyes, "I'll rephrase that, I'm not good at taking care of _regular_ kids, but she's a different kind of kind, she's really special."

She nodded, "She's your kid; it's not very hard to figure out that she's special."

He gave her a look, "Thanks Anna." He sarcastically said, "I think I'll go up and talk to her in a little." Kendall said.

Anna just seemed to realize the position she was in; Kendall's arms wrapped around her and her head tilted so she heard every beat of his heart. And she felt uncomfortable feeling inside her slowly creep up, "Kendall, can you… I mean, your arms are…." She started and was fumbling for words.

Kendall caught on right away, removing his arms from around her and stuttered, "Sorry, I…"

She smiled at him, "I know that you only were comforting me, and you defiantly got off on the right foot for us to start over." Anna said, "Go and talk to Karlie if you're ready. She wants you in her life, and I think that's the only way that she'll ever go back to the way she was."

He smiled back, "I think I'll do that, why don't you go back to doing what you were before I got here." Kendall suggested as he got up.

Anna nodded, "I really hope you can get through, you're probably the only one that could."

Kendall gave her one last glance before turning and going to the steps. She was a six year old, how bad could it be?

* * *

Walking upstairs, he didn't know what room was Karlie's, checking two of the bedrooms before finally finding himself at the right one.

There wasn't any sounds coming from within the room, and he took that as a good sign. She wasn't crying, that was a good thing on his mind. Knocking at the door, there was a small, "Go away." From inside the door.

Kendall took a long breath, before he finally spoke up, "Karlie, I need to talk to you." He hesitantly said, still waiting for a response.

There wasn't any noise from inside the room, and Kendall decided to knock once more before entering the room.

Her room was green, with Wild's posters pinned against most of the walls. She had very few girl toys, and Kendall even smiled that there were no Barbie's.

Looking at the little girl, she looked as bad, if not worse, than Anna had. Karlie looked fairly pale, a few tears still lingering in her eyes, and she looked even tinier than before, if possible.

He smiled at her room, and then looked at her, "Maybe I'll take you to a Wild's game sometime soon." Kendall offered, trying to get a response.

Karlie looked at him, "Leave." The little girl said as some tears came up to her eyes, "Just like you did before I was born, leave!"

Kendall frowned, "If I had known, I would have stayed. Anna didn't even know about you when I left." He tried to explain.

"So I was a mistake?" The little girl asked with tears in her eyes.

He shook his head immediately, "I didn't say that-"

But she cut him off, "You're a liar. If no one knew then I was a mistake! You said I wasn't your daughter! You think I'm a mistake!" She accused, more tears streaming down her cheeks.

Kendall sat at the end of her bed, "I was in shock. Have you ever been told something, but never really could believe that it was true?" She nodded, "That's what happened, and I'm sorry for saying that. I was shocked and I wasn't thinking."

"You still said it."

He sighed, "Yeah, and I can't change it. But don't take that out on Anna –mommy." He corrected, "She's had a lot of troubles lately, and I hurt her that day, and then you did too."

Karlie's face slowly got into a mask of guilt and hurt, and she said, "Mommy lied, she didn't tell me that you were here, she said daddy was away."

Kendall touched her hand, "I was though, she didn't lie. I told you about me being a singer; well that's where I was. If I wasn't so stupid not to answer Anna's calls, I would have been here."

The little girl retorted, "But you weren't! You were gone. I thought you were nice, but you and mommy keep secrets from me. I'm not a little baby, I'm tired of being treated that way!" She yelled.

Kendall sighed, "It's something that just happens, I was treated like a kid for the first sixteen years of my life, maybe even longer. What I'm saying is that Anna and I treat you like you're young because you really are. You may think you're grown up, but one day you'll have your own kids and you'll think the same thing."

Karlie frowned, her eyebrow's knitting together, "I don't like people keeping secrets. Family is about being honest –that's what mommy says to me. And if you want me to forgive you I wanna know what's been happening, and why it has." She said, crossing her arms, sounding determined.

He looked at her, "Family is also about trust, and by what you just said I don't think you trust me or your mom now. I'll tell you everything about what's been happening, but you have to promise to try and understand it and not jump to conclusions."

She nodded her head, "I promise."

Kendall finally smiled a bit, "Well, it starts off with when I moved to L.A…"

After he had finished explaining everything, Karlie seemed a little confused, but stayed quiet for the entire story. She finally said afterwards, "So, you hurt mommy, and then mommy hurt you."

Kendall nodded sadly, "Yeah, that's a simpler way of putting it. I really did love your mom, and I'm sorry for what I put her through. And what you had to go through it because of that." He took a long breath, "I'm sorry Karlie that I wasn't here." He repeated.

Karlie took a while to process it, and she finally asked, "Will you be here now though?"

He smiled a bit, "Yes, I'll be here, I'll be here every day if you want me to be." She started to smile back, but he continued, "But, you can't really have a family with just one parent, you need two. And your mom loves you more than anything else. You need to say sorry for saying you hated her."

After a little bit, Karlie nodded, "I know, I just don't want her to be mad at me." She sadly said.

"I can tell you that your family will always forgive you, no matter what you do. It may not be right away, but they will agree with you in the end." Kendall said, while ruffling her hair.

Karlie smiled, "Yeah, they will." She agreed, turning to Kendall, "Thanks …Coach Knight." She said, not sure to call him dad after his previous response to the 'd' word.

Kendall noticed, and he finally seemed to get the load that he was a father. That this kid in front of him was his own flesh and blood. He should be with her to take care of her, and she shouldn't be afraid to call him dad. "I'm only Coach Knight on the ice; to you I'll just be anything you want to call me." He finally said and not sure to directly ask if she would call him dad, not quite sure he was ready for that.

She smiled for a second, before tentatively asking, "Can I call you daddy?"

Kendall was a little shocked at the fact that Karlie would be that blunt about it. He smiled though, feeling the word start to actually sink in for the first time. Daddy: that sounded right now. Maybe not regularly, but when this little girl was saying it, the word was alright. "I'd like you to call me that, but it's up to you."

Karlie smiled, "Daddy?" She tested.

He grinned back, "Karlie?" He teased back.

By this time, the tears were gone from the room, and it was a happier atmosphere. Kendall slowly reached across the bed and at the same time the tiny girl crawled over to sit in his lap. He put his arms around her in a hug while her tiny frame was against his chest.

Karlie finally interrupted the silence. "Does it always feel this good to have a daddy?"

Kendall chuckled, "Yeah, it does. I'm not used to being the dad in the equation though." He mumbled.

That made the girl laugh, and he finally started to get up, bringing her with him, "I think it's time we go and talk to mommy. What do you think?" He asked.

Karlie nodded, "I need to say sorry to mommy." She agreed as he picked her up, putting her feet around his waist and her arms around his neck in a piggy-back.

* * *

Kendall made his way down the stairs, seeing Anna drawing in the living room, looking very worried. He smirked, "Anna, you've got a little visitor." He hinted, helping Karlie down from his back.

She didn't seem to have heard them come up, jumping a little at his voice. Anna looked at him first, then at Karlie and the faint traces of a smile were playing around her lips as she got up. "Karlie." She nearly whispered, shocked he had been able to talk with her –let alone get her out of her room.

Karlie looked at her sadly, "I'm really sorry mommy. I was mean, and daddy explained about everything that happened and I'm so sorry about being a meanie."

Just hearing her daughter speak made Anna smile, and she said, "I know you are, or you'd still be up in your room."

Karlie ran over to her, tears in her eyes again, "I'm so sorry mommy!" She wailed, attaching herself onto Anna's leg.

Anna patted her head, "It's alright, I am just glad to see you out of your room."

Kendall stood in the corner of the room, smiling. Anna noticed him, and asked, "Kendall, can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?"

Having to practically _pry_ Karlie off her leg, Anna motioned him into the kitchen where Karlie wouldn't be able to hear them.

Once they were in the kitchen, Anna didn't know why but she automatically latched herself onto Kendall, hugging him tightly. He was just as shocked as she was, and she whispered, "Thank you, so much. Karlie is everything to me, and I can't thank you enough." She said, tears forming in her eyes again.

He patted her back at bit, "I just talked things through, you could have done the same thing." Kendall brushed off.

Anna shook her head, "No, I couldn't. I've been a mess for a week; I couldn't even bear to see how much pain she was in because it made me in more pain. You saved our relationship, you saved our family."

Kendall smiled, "Well, there's more to a family now. I'll be here if you ever need me, or Karlie just needs a dad." He promised.

She smiled at him, "Thank you Kendall."

He nodded in response, "I didn't really do anything to be thanked for Anna." He glanced at the clock on the wall, "I should probably be going."

"Alright," When Kendall turned to leave, she called after him, "Kendall, can I do one last thing?"

"Sure." Kendall said, feeling that between these few hours trust had been established and a family had grown from that trust.

Anna stepped over to him, and swiftly pecked him on the cheek, surprising him, "Thank you." She repeated, stepping back. "I should probably get Karlie ready for bed."

He was still in shock, but he was able to nod, "Yeah, alright." Anna started to make her way back to the living room and Kendall called after her, "Anna," She turned around, where he was writing on a pad of paper, "My number's here, if you or Karlie need anything. And we can work some things through."

Anna felt her head nod, "I'm sure she'll want to spend time with both of us, we'll have to arrange days for her to see you and days she'll be with me."

Kendall smiled at her, "We'll deal with that another day. For right now, let's just try and be a family -all of us."

**Author's Note: Anyone else think Kendall's last line was fluffy? I was very happy with this chapter, more so the fact that it was all about everyone creating bonds for the future. And I love doing the Kendall/Anna scene -as that's probably the first semi-romantic scene we've seen with them! We'll be getting into their relationship VERY soon, and there will be more Kendall/Karlie and Kendall/Anna to come!**

**Review!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Other than the fact that this chapter is fairly short, there's not much to say until the end. **

**-I just want to say that the majority of the reviews for the last chapter loved the Kendall/Karlie scene so much I will be adding more! This chapter has a few small ones, but later on there will be more. **

**Read away:**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 15_

Kendall would visit Anna's house nearly every day, surprising them the first day when he was sitting in the living room watching a rerun hockey game. He had simply told Anna that Katie had taught him to pick locks when asked how he got in. From that day Kendall would be sitting, waiting for them to come home.

Snow had started to fall, and a particularly hard storm gave them a good six or more inches. Of course, everyone in Sherwood had four wheel drive, and there were snow plows to clear off the street. Some of the snow had melted, but there was still a fairly decent amount on the ground.

A week later, when Karlie had finished her homework and was watching cartoons with Kendall, Anna called, "Kendall, can we talk?" She asked as she started on dinner.

Karlie whined as Kendall got up, "Mom, please! Daddy has to leave soon."

Anna smiled sadly at her, "It'll only take a second Karlie, and then he'll be back." She promised as Kendall walked into the kitchen.

"I swear, I wasn't the one who gave Karlie the candy… she found it." Kendall tried to cover up, thinking she was going to scold him about giving Karlie some candy yesterday.

That made Anna laugh a bit, "I already knew that was you Kendall, and I'm not here to yell at you for it. You're acting just like I thought you would-" he froze, "-a fun loving dad." Kendall smiled, "I just think we need to talk about something else."

Kendall nodded, not knowing what she was saying, "Alright, talk about what?"

She smiled, "Well, Karlie really likes having you around; I was thinking that you should get more chances to see her –if you want to do that." Anna hinted.

He grinned a bit, "I like to see her, she's a cute kid… what do you have in mind?"

Anna fiddled with her thumbs, "If you wanted, I was thinking she could spend the night with you. It's a Friday, so she could stay with you from after dinner to around lunch tomorrow. You two should have some time to just have father-daughter time." She then winked, "It's also a hockey game tonight." Anna finished.

Kendall laughed a bit, "I've never watched a hockey game with Karlie yet, that'd be fun." Anna smiled, "But I don't know how to take care of a kid for a day."

She gave him a look, "You don't have to feed her dinner, just go home and have fun. Make sure she's in bed by eight. When she wakes up just make some breakfast –you could just give her cereal if you can't cook well. Then I'll be there at noon, and you have my number if anything goes wrong." She said with a shrug. "I'd be good for you two to have time alone."

He bit his lip, "Where do I put her to sleep?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "A bed. I'm sure your house has a guest room –if not two. It looked fairly large when I passed it."

Kendall thought for a moment, "We can try it."

Suddenly the smoke alarm went off, and Anna whipped around to open the oven and see the chicken was burnt. "Scratch that one part, you have to make her dinner too."

* * *

Once Kendall pulled up to his house, Karlie was still bouncing in her seat. She had never been more excited: she was spending a night with her dad. She looked at saw a large brown paneled house, one much bigger than the one that her and Anna lived.

"Is this your house, dad?" She asked as they got out of the car.

Kendall smiled and nodded, "Yeah, it is."

Karlie looked at it in awe, "It's really big!" She said, "I get to stay here?"

He looked at her, "You're gonna stay for the night, and if it goes well we can do it more often." He replied as they walked to the front door, where Kendall inserted his key and opened the door.

After looking around the main entrance, seeing the kitchen doorway and the living room, Karlie spotted a door, and pointed to it, "What's inside that door?" She asked innocently.

Kendall walked over and opened it, "It's a basement, that's where my hockey stuff is and I watch hockey in." He showed the steps, before turning and started upstairs, to show Karlie the room she'd stay in, "You can sleep in the guest room, and if we do this often I'll let you decorate the room." He said, turning around to where the little girl should have been.

When he went back downstairs, Karlie was still out of sight, "Karlie!" it'd only been three minutes since they got here and he'd already lost her. This was why he was sketchy about doing this.

Finally, he heard a faint, "Cool!" And then, "This room has a bunch of hockey stuff! Can I play hockey in here?"

Kendall looked at the steps to the basement, not surprised to see Karlie holding a hockey stick and beaming happily. "Can I?" She asked excitedly.

He chuckled a bit, "Sorry Karlie, no hockey in the house." She groaned, "At least not down there, we'll have a hockey match someplace without a flat screen TV." Squealing, Karlie ran off.

Kendall laughed as he went into his kitchen. He didn't really use the kitchen much actually. He would have a coffee in the morning from the coffee joint, and then he'd eat from the food stand at the rink. If he wasn't at one of the guys house for dinner, then he'd put in some microwavable food, but he'd never really cooked before.

The only time that he had cooked, it was when him and the guys were staying over at Anna's house for the day when they were ten. All of them had tried to make mac and cheese, and somehow it had turned into the entire kitchen being covered with cheese and got grounded for it.

Kendall looked inside the fridge, not surprised the slightest when there were only cold cuts, and then in the freezer there was ice cream and some frozen vegetables in there. "Damn it." He cursed under his breath. Looking in the pantry, there was some chips and candies, along with bread, cereal and some other foods.

He sighed in frustration, "Well, I'm screwed." He mumbled, leaning his head against one of the cabinets, hitting it against it a few times, "What am I going to feed Karlie now?"

The sound of the front door hitting the wall echoed through his head, and there was a chorus of two familiar voices yelling, "Food's here! We got two large, extra cheesy pizza's!"

Three figures walked into the kitchen, and Kendall smiled in relief. James and Carlos put down the two large pizza's on the counter, and cheered together, "Who's ready for Wild's against Avalanche?" They both yelled.

Logan, who was standing behind them, rolled his eyes, "They are a little excited for the Wild's to play again." He mumbled.

Carlos gave him a look, "Well, of course we are! It's even a home game –we should have gotten tickets." Carlos said, giving everyone a look, "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Because we didn't move back here in time –you have to get tickets a few months in advanced." Logan retorted, raising an eyebrow.

James stepped between them, "Calm it down, it starts in a few minutes." Carlos chirped up, "Let's go!" He yelled, grabbing one of the pizzas and heading out of the kitchen.

Carlos was quick to follow him, leaving Kendall and Logan alone in the room.

The smart boy looked at his friend, "Why do you seem so tense?" He asked.

Kendall looked at him, "With everything that's happened lately don't you think that it's alright that I'm a little tense?"

Logan scoffed, "A _little?_ Kendall, you look like you are going to be attacked by someone."

"Alright, I'm tense. I'm just… nervous." The blonde reluctantly agreed.

"Kendall, nervous?" Logan asked, a shocked look on his face, "What could have Kendall nervous?" He teased, poking Kendall.

Kendall gave him a small glare, "Well, let's think. One day I move back home to Minnesota, and the next I'm a -" He shut his mouth, thinking that Carlos and James might be listening. "_You know what._"

Logan nodded, "Well, yeah that is frustrating, but it's been going good right? You haven't done anything wrong yet –I mean, you haven't had to do much. At least you're starting off slow."

He nodded, "Yeah." He mumbled offhandedly.

"So, they're doing well?"

"Yeah, we all are." Kendall said, smiling a bit.

Logan smiled, "So there's a 'we' now? That's good."

Kendall shoved his side, "Thanks Logan." He retorted sarcastically, and then looked around, "Hey, what happened to the pizza?" He asked.

Logan shrugged, "James and Carlos brought them downstairs."

He nodded, and then he suddenly looked at the other boy, "Wait, they're downstairs?"

"Yeah, why?"

Kendall was sprinting towards the basements steps by the time Logan had responded, "Karlie's here." He whispered as he heard a loud yell.

"Kendall!"

* * *

"_Let's go!" James yelled, grabbing one of the pizza's and heading out of the kitchen._

_Carlos was quick to follow him, leaving Kendall and Logan alone in the room._

The two boys started down the hall, and to the steps of the basement. Carlos was already stuffing his face with a piece of pizza, while James was using his fingers to comb his hair back.

"Why was Kendall acting weird when we got here?" James asked casually, not really seeming that concerned.

Carlos shrugged, swallowing the food, "Who knows, he's been acting funny for a while now." He looked at him, "He might have just forgotten about the game."

They dropped the subject as they came to the last stair, hearing the sound of the TV. They both smiled seeing it already on sports channel, only having a few minutes left till the game started.

James nudged Carlos, "He didn't forget the game –he even had it on the right channel."

Carlos argued, "Kendall _only_ watches the sport channel."

The taller boy gave him a look before they both walked around and set the pizzas on the small table, sitting on the couch.

James was looking around for the remote, and when Carlos leaned forward to get another slice of pizza, he about screamed. "Carlos, don't move." He said.

Carlos looked at him, "Is there a bug? Swat it!"

"Good idea." James agreed, grabbing a magazine, standing up.

Carlos wasn't very concerned with what his friend was doing. Then a different voice said, "Don't hit me with a magazine!"

The Latino looked over and on the other couch a small girl sat, looking at them innocently before giving James a look. Carlos turned to James, laughing, "This is the bug you were going to smack?"

James glanced at him, "I'm not a kid person."

The little girl looked at him, "Let me guess, you're a dog person." She replied sarcastically.

Carlos laughed when the girl said that, but James didn't seem amused, "Actually, I'm not a pest person."

Carlos leaned over and hit him, "Dude, be nice to kids."

James looked at him, "Kids are loud and obnoxious."

The girl crossed her arms, "I'm right here." She said pointedly.

"I -" The brunette started, but Carlos cut across him.

"What's your name?" Carlos asked, sounding curious. James merely laughed at him, while still glaring at the kid. He never had liked kids.

The little girl smiled, "See, he's not a cat person!" She said, pointing at Carlos, "My name is Karlie. What's your name?"

James just stood there, wondering why in the world a kid was in this house –Kendall's house. Carlos happily replied, "I'm Carlos, and that's James."

The tall boy smacked him, "Carlos! Don't tell that _thing_ what my name is!" He hissed quietly.

Karlie looked at him again, giving him yet another look, "Now I'm a thing? That's not very nice." She pointed out.

James laughed without humor, "Haha, you think that you're so clever don't you? But I'm not like Carlos, and I will smack you with this magazine." He threatened, holding the magazine up for emphasis.

Carlos hit the other boy again, "James, don't be mean. I mean, she's like…" He looked at Karlie, "How old are you?"

Karlie quickly said, "Six, my birthday was on Halloween."

Carlos nodded, turning back to the brunette guy, "See, she's only six. Don't be mean –think about it. That means that she's…." He started to count his fingers, "_16_ years younger than me, and _17_ years younger than you."

"Why does it matter?" James snapped.

"Because that means that you should be nice. You should be nice to people younger than you."

"When was that a rule?"

Karlie stood up, putting her hands on her hips, "Everyone should be quiet!" She announced.

James looked at her, "And I'm going to listen to a little rat?"

She looked back at him, "Well, this _rat_ is telling that the game is going to be on soon."

He smirked, "Speaking of the game –when are Kendall and Logan getting down here? We need to ask Kendall why a kid is in his basement."

Carlos had to agree, "Yep, I've got to agree with you on that." He turned back to Karlie, "What are you doing here?" He asked casually.

She leaned over and whispered something into his ear, and when she settled back into her seat, there was an aggravated sigh.

James was scowling, "Why couldn't that little roach just say it out loud?" He asked, clearly getting annoyed by the kid.

Karlie looked at him, "Wait, what am I? You said a dog, then a thing, then rat, and now roach. I'm confused."

"You're all of the above." He snapped back.

Once more, Karlie leaned over and said something to Carlos. James looked at his friend, "What did _it_ say?"

Carlos blurted out, "She said that she's here to watch the Wild's game, and that she thinks your mean."

James looked at Karlie, "You've got the wrong house: this is our friend Kendall's house." He said, trying to keep his calm. But he still was really aggravated with the kid.

Karlie nodded, "I know, Coach Knight."

Then Carlos turned over to look at James, "See, Kendall might have invited one of his hockey students to watch the game with us."

The little girl shook her head again, "No." She said, "This is my home for the night." Karlie explained, grabbing a slice of pizza from the box.

Both boys exchanged a long and confused look before yelling, "Kendall!"

When they had looked back to the little girl, Karlie's eyes were focused on the TV screen, no longer listening to them.

Loud stomps down the steps were heard, and soon Kendall emerged from the steps, Logan only a few strides behind him.

Kendall was trying to catch his breath as he said, "I can explain." And Logan nodded from behind him.

Both of the confused boys chorused, "Alright, explain!"

He sighed, "Um, well." Kendall stumbled for words, "Karlie is my daughter." He finished lamely.

Carlos fell back, effectively smacking his head on the table in shock.

James, on the other hand, screeched, "This… this monster is your kid?"

Kendall looked helplessly to Logan, before facing back to his other two friends.

**Author's Note: I had a little block at the end of the chapter, so I hope it's not terrible. But I think having Carlos and James knowing is the next step, and I'm surprised that no one asked about when they would know! **

**Excluding how James treats Katie so protectevly in **_Big Time Crush _**I would think his interaction with kids wouldn't be fun for him. My guess of James would act like being with a little kid is actually quite comical -well, it was in my mind, I'm not sure how it turned out. Anyone is free to disagree though, that's my own opinion. If you disagree just tell me.**

**Carlos on the other hand is very much like a kid already. With that said, I would think he'd be the one to be laid back and not get frustrated by kids easily. Anyone else think that?**

**I also want to give a story shout out:**

_Ampersand _**by _christinainwonderland_**

**Now, Review please!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Some of you will notice the slight block I had. I am just finishing this _right_ before I had to post because I didn't know were to go with it.**

**And, I added a super big surprise to the end, to make up for the more than crappy beggining. I hope you enjoy it.**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 16:_

It was luck that Carlos still wore the same black helmet everywhere. When his head smacked into the table, he merely felt the impact, but no pain.

James still stood there, looking at Kendall, waiting for an answer.

Kendall looked once more to Logan, who was still merely observing the scene in front of him. But the brunette boy didn't say a word, raising an eyebrow at him.

Carlos scrambled up from the ground, "Nice one Kendall!" He said, reaching out for a high five, but the blond didn't respond. "That was the best prank ever! I actually believed you for a second." He laughed, looking at the little girl, and then back to Kendall.

Smacking his head, James laughed with him, "That explains it. I thought you were serious." He laughed again, smiling finally.

"About that," Kendall started, "It's not a prank, that's the truth."

Both the other boys fell silent, "How's that even possible?" Carlos finally asked in shock.

Finally, Logan spoke up, "Well, when a guy and a girl-" He started.

James waved his hand for the smart boy to stop, "We know _how_ it happens Logan, we've taken heath class before. We just understand _with _who it happened."

Logan looked over to Kendall, silently telling him to explain. Kendall huffed, glancing at Karlie who was looking at the TV as both teams were starting to skate around the ice rink. Looking back, he thought for a second, "Um, well I don't think you'll really believe me."

The tallest boy laughed, and he continued by saying, "Let me guess. You had a one night stand and knocked a girl up before we left." James finished, laughing still.

No one noticed that Karlie was listening, or saw the confused look on her face as she watched the TV. She didn't know what they were talking about, but kept her mouth shut. A small frown appeared on her face, because she didn't like the tone that he was using.

Kendall gave him a glare. Not the usual friendly glare that they gave each other, but a real glare. "No, I didn't have a one night stand James." He said through gritted teeth.

Kendall didn't really notice how close he had gotten with Anna and Karlie from the past week. He had actually felt like a father, like he was a family with both of them.

He may not have forgotten his past with Anna, but he still felt like there was progress. Both of them had started to be nicer to each other, putting their past feelings aside. And slowly he felt like they had started to become a good family. A troubled family –but still a family.

The thought that his friends thought so lowly of him made him fairly angry. Kendall had always had a protective nature over his friends and family. That was why he would get mad at people back when they picked on Logan when they were five, or teased Carlos for wearing his helmet through junior high. And then was furious about Gustavo saying James couldn't sing when he obviously could. The protective nature had stuck with him through his entire life.

Kendall snapped back at James, "Shut the h-" He started to yell, but Logan nudged him, nodding his head to Karlie. Kendall started to rephrase the sentence, "I'm glad to know you think so lowly of me!" He yelled, "All of us know _you_ would do that, but I would _never_ do that!"

James was surprised at the sudden out burst from Kendall. Kendall had never yelled at them before, he had yelled at people for picking on one of them, but never at them. They had seen him angry, but not at them –ever. "Then why is there a little _monster_ sitting right there?" He asked incredulously, pointing to Karlie.

The frown on Karlie's face grew bigger as she heard that, but she continued to sit in silence.

Kendall looked at the pretty boy, and continued to give him a mean look. "That monster happens to be _my_ daughter –so stop that, and shut it." He growled back. When Logan tried to put an arm on his shoulder to calm him down he shrugged it off violently.

Carlos stepped between the two tall boys, "Hey, let's just calm down and talk about this." He said, trying to be calm about it. Carlos was reckless about most things, being the craziest of all of them. But he was also the most sensitive of them, and hated to see his friends fight.

Turning to him, James gave Carlos a look, "Carlos, don't tell me to calm down. Do you not get Kendall decided to have a little _twit_ of a kid?"

Kendall roughly shoved the tallest boy in the shoulder, "I said knock it off!" He pushed him once more, "If you don't like it, there's the door." He retorted, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder, towards the steps.

James smirked, "I think that's a perfect idea." He agreed, trying to sidestep Kendall and go to the door.

Before he could, Kendall grabbed his forearm roughly, and whispered menacingly, "If you have a problem with this, take it up with me –and only me. Leave Karlie out of it."

Ripping his arm from Kendall's hold, James started towards the steps, but both Logan and Carlos stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his way. "Move." He demanded, pushing them both in the chest.

Neither of the small boys even stumbled back from the harsh impact, and Logan said calmly, "How about we sit down and Kendall will explain?" He offered.

Carlos looked at him, "Wait, why does it sound like you're not surprised?" Logan froze a little bit, "You knew?" Carlos accused.

Logan bit his cheek a bit, "I – Kendall – yes?" He finished, not able to make a straight answer.

James crossed his arms, "See Carlos! Both of them were keeping secrets from us, and I bet they weren't planning on even telling us before this!" He glared at Logan, and then back at Kendall, "How long have you been keeping secrets from us? A day? A week? A month? –since we left here?"

"I was going to tell you-" Kendall started.

Carlos stood next to James, "Then why are we finding this out just now? You only told us because you thought we knew." He argued.

Logan stepped forward, "I'm sure that we can explain everything-"

"Shut up!" Both of them yelled.

"Listen up!" Kendall yelled back at them, "I'll explain… upstairs."

All of them walked up the steps. Karlie finally looked back at the spot that they had been, confusion written across her features. "What just happened?"

* * *

Kendal led them to the kitchen, and sat into one of the chairs, and finally the rest of them followed. Logan was beside him with James and Carlos glaring at him from across the table.

"Explain." James demanded.

Kendall didn't flinch at his harsh tone, and merely said, "What do you want to know first?" He calmly replied, but there was a strained voice underneath.

Carlos was the one to reply, but his tone wasn't mean like James'. He bluntly said, "How long have you had a daughter?"

"Six years." Kendall said.

"You've known for _six years?_ And you never told us?" James snapped at him, and then gave Logan a look, "Or did you just tell Logan and not us?" He almost sneered.

Kendall shook his head, "First, I never even told Logan –hell, he knew before I did." They gave him a confused look, "Second, I didn't know I had a daughter for six years, I have only known for a little over two weeks." He tried to explain.

Carlos gave him a confused look once more, "You just said that you knew for six years." He stated.

"Actually," Logan started to say, "You asked how long he's had a daughter, and that's six years. He only found out a little while ago."

James looked at Kendall with cold eyes, "I thought we were all best friends –and that we tell each other everything. Why don't we already know about that _thing_ and about who the mom is?" He asked, his voice like steel.

Kendall stayed calm though, and said, "You're not my best friends-" All of the boys, including Logan, stared at him with hurt expressions on their faces, "-you're my brothers. You guys are family, and I would have told you."

When Carlos opened his mouth to speak, Kendall cut him off, "I don't know how to explain." He took a long breath, "I just found out –I'm still working on dealing with this."

Carlos finally asked, "Who's the mom?"

Kendall bit his lip, "Well, you're going to freak out when I tell you."

"Freak out?" James asked, before repeating, "Freak out? You just told us you have a little kid, nothing else can make us crazier."

Logan chuckled a bit, everyone having forgotten about him. He said quietly, "Well, I'm surprised that you didn't already guess, Karlie looks exactly like her."

Carlos said back, "The only person Karlie looks like is Anna, but Kendall and Anna broke up _years _ago." He said, laughing.

There was a long silence, and both Kendall and Logan were giving the other two obvious looks. "_Really?_" Both the guys asked Carlos.

"Wait," James thought for a moment, "Anna is that kid's mom?"

Kendall slowly nodded, "Yeah."

Finally, James started laughing heartily, "Yeah, you and Anna may have dated but I highly doubt that you guys had sex." He laughed again, "Anna is as likely to have sex as Carlos is."

Carlos looked over, hurt, "Hey!" He said, hitting James in the arm.

Logan shrugged, "It's true." He agreed.

"You're just as likely Logan." James added snidely.

The blond shushed them, "Shut up," Finally, the bickering slowly died down, and they looked at him, "Anna's the mom –happy?" James opened his mouth, "I don't want to hear a word about what our love -or sex- life was like." He added, giving the other boy a look.

Carlos looked at him, "Wait, so you and Anna had a baby?" Kendall nodded, "Then why did you have us go to Hollywood if you had a baby to take care of?"

Kendall sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He hated to think of that, and hearing it out loud was terrible. "I didn't know about Karlie –Anna didn't even know she was pregnant." He said, "I would have stayed if I had known."

"Alright, how about you just explain." James prompted, settling his elbow on the table and resting his head on it.

Kendall went on and explained what he knew, Logan putting in small things that he knew as he told the story.

Both the boys looked at Carlos and James, who were quiet the entire time.

Carlos was first to speak, "So, that means-" Kendall got a nervous feeling at the start of the question, "-that means I'm uncle Carlitos!" He finished, beaming happily.

Kendall sighed in relief, and Logan laughed a little, "You've got a better name then I do. Apparently I'm uncle Logie." He finished quietly.

The Latino laughed, but James had a perfect poker face on. "First, that kid isn't going to call me _Uncle Jamesy. _And if you try to make me babysit I'll kill you." He then added afterwards, "That kid is sarcastic!"

Kendall chuckled, "That's my fault; I was a little sarcastic around her at first." He replied sheepishly.

Suddenly Karlie's voice yelled from the basement, "_Score!_"

"How about we go watch the game?" Kendall offered, getting up.

All of them followed him, and as they went down the steps James said, "I want the chair farthest from that-" Kendall glared at him, "Karlie." He said, not able to use the word that he wanted to.

They went back downstairs, seeing Karlie sitting on one of the sofas with her eyes on the TV. James walked to the other sofa and sat farthest from away from Karlie. Carlos sat on the other end of the sofa with James, and then Logan sat on one side of Karlie, and Kendall on the other.

A few minutes later with all of them watching the game, everything seemed calmed.

Kendall was watching the TV when he felt a small figure slip into his lap. He looked down and saw that Karlie was looking up at him, almost asking for permission.

He smiled, wrapping his arms loosely around her. After a few moments the little girl curled up in his arms and rested in his embrace.

When the game was over, Karlie was sleeping with a smile on her face.

* * *

All too soon Karlie and Kendall found themselves awake in the morning and noon came around.

Karlie was sitting on a chair in the kitchen and Kendall was playing a game of _Monopoly _with her, being stubble about letting her win. He had never liked the game, but Karlie seemed to enjoy playing, so he sucked it up.

The doorbell rang, and Kendall jumped up in an excuse to stop playing the game. "Yes!" He whispered to himself, walking to the front door.

He opened it, seeing Anna standing there with a smile on her face. Kendall raised his eyebrows, "What are you smiling about?" He teased, stifling a yawn. He was so happy there wasn't any work today.

She shrugged, shivering a bit at the cold. "Just happy you're still alive after yesterday." She replied and he opened the door farther to let her in.

Kendall shrugged, "It wasn't that bad." He tried to wave her off.

Laughing a bit, Anna asked, "I know you Kendall, and you _love _to dodge subjects. So, what happened that could be that bad?"

He paused for a second at the words, and tried to say as casually as possible, "Nothing much, we watched the game, the guys came over, James and Carlos found out I had a kid. Just a regular night for me."

Anna didn't seem the least bit phased. "I know." She replied as they walked down the hall.

Kendall reached out and grabbed her arm, efficiently stopping her, "Wait, you know?" She nodded, "How do you know?"

She laughed again, "You and the guys have always watched hockey together, and Logan told me that every time that the Wild's play you meet at your house." She shrugged.

He stared at her in shock, "You knew and you didn't tell me?" He asked, and she nodded her head, "And _why _didn't you tell me?"

Anna gave him a smile, "Simple –you would have never done it. The hardest thing for you is having to keep secrets from your friends. And I thought I could help you tell him." She stepped back a bit, "You're not mad right?"

Kendall thought for a second, "A little –I mean, I would have liked to tell them before they saw Karlie." She frowned, "But it was still a nice thing to do, in a weird way."

She laughed, "Well, I always was a little weird." Anna smiled at him, which he copied, "So, speaking of Carlos and James, how'd they fend with finding that out?"

Kendall opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it, "Carlos thought I was joking, but by the end of the night he liked Karlie… James, he was a little more than pissed." Anna raised an eyebrow, "He thinks all kids are slimy and disgusting. And Karlie was a bit too sarcastic for a six year old." He said, trying to play the entire night down.

Anna laughed once more, and he joined in. She was able to stifle the laugh and asked, "I wonder where that came from… Kendall?" She said, hitting his shoulder playfully.

Kendall rolled his eyes, finding it a lot easier to be calm and happy around Anna nowadays. "I was a little sarcastic, but she also spends time with Camille. Think about that."

She gave him a look, "Camille isn't sarcastic and witty –she's more impulsive." Anna looked around the entranceway "Where is Karlie?"

His eyes widened, "Making me play Monopoly." He groaned.

Anna snorted, "You never did like that game. Seems like that's another thing that Karlie got from me." She said, laughing a bit.

Kendall gave her a confused look, "You never liked that game either." He pointed out.

She nodded, "Yes, but I always loved to annoy you." She replied happily.

He rolled his eyes once again, "You did." He had to agree, "You loved to push my buttons."

Anna looks at him, "It sounds mean when you put it that way… think of it as joking rather than being mean –because that's really all it was." She explained. "And before you say something, I got my sense of humor from _you,_ Mr. Sarcasm."

Kendall gave her a look and then continued down the hall with her, saying, "I didn't give you my sense of humor –and I'm not _that _sarcastic." He argued.

"Sure…" Anna trailed off, laughing.

He gave her a look, leading her into the kitchen where the game was sprawled out. "Karlie, mom's here."

Karlie groaned, "Mom!" She wined.

Kendall was the one to speak, and he said, "Hey, we can do this again next weekend-" He looked over to Anna, who nodded in approval, "See, your mom says yes. I'll see you at hockey in the week and then you can stay here over the weekend."

That cheered the girl up a little, and Anna smiled with appreciation towards Kendall. _'Thanks' _Anna mouthed to him.

Anna looked at her daughter, "We've got to go, one of your friends called this morning and asked if you could play."

Once more Karlie let out a whine, "That stinks. I wanna stay here longer." She deadpanned.

Kendall reached down and picked the little girl up, "Come on, get up." He said, having to nearly pull her from the chair.

* * *

Once Karlie was in the car, Anna and Kendall were standing in the cold air, a blanket of snow still on the ground.

Anna smiled at him, a genuine, nice smile, "I'm glad you agreed to do that Kendall, Karlie needed to spend some father-daughter time with you." She said quietly.

Kendall couldn't help from smiling as well, "I'm really glad that we did that too."

"That's good." She replied, pulling her coat closer to her body for more warmth. Her socks were starting to get wet; her boots having let snow in them, making her shiver a bit more.

The atmosphere around them seemed to get slightly more awkward than before, and Kendall started to rub the back of his neck, while Anna fiddled her thumbs. "This a little awkward." Kendall commented, still rubbing his neck like he always did when he was uncomfortable.

Anna laughed a bit at the comment, "I think we already figured out that out a long time ago." She remarked, "But it's gotten better now. I feel more… comfortable around you." She decided. "It may not always be the way it was before –but it's starting to feel more like you're part of my family again." Anna finished, smiling weakly.

Kendall chuckled at the comment, "It's starting to feel like that for me too. Like you and Karlie are my little family here."

She looked at him, her eyes questioning, "What about James, Carlos and Logan?"

He shrugged slightly, wondering what Anna was getting onto. "What about them?"

Rolling her eyes, Anna replied, "They're your family too, it's not that small of a family as you think." She pointed out, raising her eyebrow.

Kendall gave her a look, "They are my family, but that's different." She gave him a questioning look, "The guys –there like brothers to me. Well, you and Karlie are different. We're an _actual_ family." He explained.

Anna started to laugh a bit, and he cast her a glance. Stifling the laughs, she said, "Family isn't just about being related by blood. Family is the people who love and care about you, and vice versa. They are just as much of your family as Karlie and I are."

He nodded, "Yeah, that's true." Kendall paused, "There's a bond that you have with your family, both kinds of family. But for some reason it feels like all I want to do is help you and Karlie. You two are more than just family now."

Kendall paused, before quietly adding, "_You _are more than just family."

Anna looked at him quizzically, "How's that?"

He smiled a little, happy she hadn't caught on right away. "I just think you seem different than everyone else. You were always different –but now you seem even more so." Kendall prompted.

She raised an eyebrow, "Is that a complement or an insult?" Anna teased, trying not to laugh again.

Kendall seemed serious though. Every word that spilled out of his mouth was laced with the truth. "I just think you seem different now. I mean, not just when I came back, but over the last week when I spent time with you and Karlie. You started to act different around me…" He trailed off, hoping for an answer: an honest answer.

Anna sighed, "I've been doing something I haven't really done before." Kendall gave her a look, "I've been letting my guard down. I feel comfortable with you around now, and it feels like you're a part of my life again." She said.

Slowly, a tear rolled down her cheek, and Kendall didn't miss it. "You're crying?" He asked, confused as he whipped the tear away from her face. His finger lingered on her cheek for a little longer than needed. But neither of them had noticed.

She smiled weakly, "I guess that's what happens when you open your heart back up and let emotion in… You feel again." Anna sighed, "I hate it, the feeling of being weak when I cry. I hate thinking that I'm not going to be strong enough for Karlie." She added sadly, whipping away excess tears, "I haven't had a proper family for over six years now."

Kendall frowned a first, but then smiled a bit, "I promise, I'll be here now. I won't leave again, not ever." He promised, reaching his hand out.

Anna looked at his hand for a moment, before finally taking it, her small hand molding perfectly into his. "I trust you Kendall. I don't think I ever imagined saying that again, but I do. You've been doing the best you could to help me, and I can't forgive you enough." She said, before letting go of his hand and wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Even if tears had started to fall from her eyes, Anna was still smiling through it. She had never felt happy and sad at the same time before. It was usually either being hurt, or being grateful. But for some strange reason it felt good to feel the two emotions together.

Kendall wrapped his arms around her waist, patting her back with one hand in comfort. "I didn't do anything to get forgiven for." He replied.

"Yes Kendall, you did." Anna sighed, "Before this, I was just an empty person, carrying on because of Karlie –because I needed her to live the life I never got to have." She sighed, her head buried into his chest, "Then, you came back. I guess that's what really switched my emotions back on. And even when you said you hated me multiple times, I still blocked out the pain. And now that I let myself feel, and I couldn't be happier."

Kendall chuckled into her hair, "Mmmhmm."

She bit her lip, "How come you sound upset?"

His eyebrows furrowed in frustration, "I'm not upset about anything." He bluntly replied, but Anna gave him a look, "I'm just a little upset about something –it's not important though." Kendall tried to brush off, wanting to get off of the topic.

Anna loosened her hold on his neck at bit, so her arms hung from his throat. "I can tell when you're upset. You get this look in your eyes, it's not much of a sign, but you can see a faint trace of sadness in them." She explained, "I learned a lot about you before you left, and even more when you came back." She mumbled as an afterthought.

Kendall looked down to the girl in his arms, "I'm just upset about not being here. Not being with you through this, not being here for Karlie. I wish I knew what's happened during six years."

Anna pulled away from him a bit, still not breaking their embrace, "Worrying about the past won't get you anywhere. You need to face the facts that are happening now, and not worry about the past or the future." She advised.

He rolled his eyes a bit, "Very poetic of you Anna." He mumbled, resting his chin on the top of her head.

She smiled, "It feels good right now." She whispered.

Kendall nodded his head, looking down at her, "Yeah, it does." He agreed.

Neither of them knew which one had started it first. Which one had looked at the other first, which one had the intentions. But both of them where entranced by the moment, all of the snow and cold around them disappeared and it was just them.

Kendall and Anna were both leaning in, until their lips were connected. The kiss was slow and careful at first, and quickly became more and more passionate by the moment. Anna's hand dug into his shaggy locks, while Kendall's hands were placed firmly against her back, closing the space between them.

It didn't matter about what the rest of the world thought, or what the consequences could be. It was just them: just Anna and Kendall together in their own world.

**Author's Note: Feels sorta fluffy again. This story is starting to feel more fluffy than angsty. Fanfic needs to put fluffy as a genre!**

**The ending wasnt supposed to be there, I was orriginally going to have one more complete chapter before that, but I changed my mind on it. I've gotten alot of reviews on Kenna's relashionship and I need to speed it up.**

**So, review if you want to know what happens...**


	18. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Saturday, an early update! **

**-Thank you once more to _every single_ reviewer that has reviewed this story. I am still in awe on how many reviews that this story has -290!- it is amazing and I wish I could type out every single reviewer onto a page and thank you personally because you guys deserve it.**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 17:_

Kendall and Anna stayed with their lips locked together; kissing each other like there was nothing left in the world but them.

Neither of them pulled away from the embrace for air, oxygen seeming less important by the second.

There was a loud honk, and both of them suddenly pulled apart from each other making them arm's length away from each other.

But when they looked, there wasn't a car on the road though, and there was no one watching them.

Kendall seemed to be in a state of shock, and under his breath he mumbled, "Wow, that was…" Not able to finish the sentence.

Anna couldn't help her head from nodding as well, "Yeah." She whispered; low enough that he could barely hear it.

After a few second of silence, Anna broke it.

"I should probably be going." She muttered, pulling her coat closer to her chest.

When she turned to leave, Kendall grabbed her hand, smiling as she stopped. Once Anna had turned back around to him, he asked, "How about we go out to dinner tonight? Just us two?" His confidence surprising both of them.

Anna was quiet for a second before she smiled back at him, "Yeah." She replied, her head foggy from the kiss still.

Kendall's smile grew bigger, his dimples showing, "Can I pick you up at eight?"

She nodded, "Sure" She thought for a moment, "What about Karlie? She can't be alone in the house –she'd burn it down."

Kendall smiled deviously, "I can take care of that."

Anna chuckled a bit, "That sounds good then. I'll see you at eight."

He finally let go of her hand, and Anna gave him one last smile before turning back to the car.

When she stopped at the car and looked back, Kendall was standing on the porch, smiling. Anna waved at him, before climbing into the vehicle.

Once the car was out of the driveway, Karlie asked from the backseat, "Mommy, are you and daddy getting back together?"

Anna's happiness fell, and her stomach churned. Did she say yes, and if it didn't work out face Karlie being mad at her, or tell her no and may have lied to her. She tried to concentrate on the road as she replied with a waning voice, "I don't know what is happening between us."

Karlie's eyebrow's furrowed together, "What does that mean?"

The young mom sighed, using one hand to run through her dark locks, "We're a bit complicated." She whispered, but her daughter still heard her.

"You were kissing though. And in the fairytales, when the prince and the princess kiss it means that they are in love." Karlie pointed out.

Anna tried to think her way out of this. "Your dad and I are different though. We're not a princess and a prince –we're just normal."

Karlie pouted, not liking the answer, "I think you're a princess, mommy. And daddy's the hockey prince." She smiled, "And I'm the little princess."

Rolling her eyes, Anna laughed a bit, "You are a little princess." She replied, turning onto their street.

"Why did you and dad jump away from each other when I accidently hit the honk button?"

_That's where the honk came from._ Anna thought, "We were… surprised by it." She said carefully.

Karlie subconsciously narrowed her eyes a bit, "Why?"

Anna bit her bottom lip a bit, "Kissing is a personal thing, and you don't do it a lot in public."

"So you and daddy kiss a lot when people don't see you?" The little girl questioned.

As they pulled into the driveway Anna hung her head, laying it on the steering wheel, "That's not what I meant Karlie." She mumbled.

Karlie then pointed out, "But you made it seem like that."

"Implied." She said back, earning a confused look, "The word you'd use is implied." Karlie then nodded towards her, "But it wasn't implied –I was just explaining why we jumped at the sudden sound."

The six year old giggled, "No."

Anna looked back at her, "You make a lot of things up, Karlie. It was nothing –if it was I would tell you." Her voice lowered as she said the last sentence, a knot forming in her stomach. She hated lying to her daughter, and truth be told, she had felt something in the kiss. But she wouldn't get both their hopes up and then have to crush them later.

Karlie frowned, "What did daddy ask you after that though? You were talking to him."

"Well," Anna started, not sure what to say, "He asked me to go and have some dinner with him." She said cautiously.

"You and daddy are going on a date!" Karlie exclaimed, beaming in happiness.

Sighing, Anna finally opened the car door and climbed out, getting Karlie from the backseat, "We're just talking over dinner." She replied.

Karlie shook her head stubbornly, "No, you're going on a date!"

Seven thirty came around, and Anna had started to get ready.

Karlie bounded into her mom's room, seeing some clothes on the bed. "What are you wearing on your date with daddy?" She asked curiously, jumping onto the bed and lying beside the clothes.

Anna rolled her eyes, "It's not a date, for the last time, we're just going out to talk."

"Ha!" Karlie yelled, springing to her feet, "You said going out –which means you're going on a date!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Never mind."

Settling back onto the bed, Karlie asked, "So what are you wearing? It's got to be pretty for dad."

Anna shrugged, "A shirt and jeans. It's not like it's a big thing tonight Karlie, we're just going to have dinner."

"But in those romance movies the people always start to fall in love on their first date –and they always wear a pretty dress." Karlie pointed out.

"I need to stop letting you watch TV." She mumbled, grabbing a shirt from her closet, sliding it off the hanger to put on.

Leaping off the bed, Karlie took the shirt from her hands and put it on the bed, "Mom, that shirt is something you wear all the time! You need to wear something special!"

Anna grabbed a different shirt, "Karlie, I've dressed myself my entire life. I think I can pick out an outfit." She said, and silently added, "You wouldn't pick out your own outfit till you were four."

Karlie didn't hear the last part, but scrunched her nose, "From what it looks like you can't. You need to look really pretty and different than usual! And no wearing t-shirts on dates mom –even I know this!" She said, with a 'duh' tone.

"Fine then," The young mom started, "Why don't you pick out my outfit?" She teased, not actually believing that the girl would.

Karlie nodded with determination before walking into the closet, looking through the racks of clothes. After a few seconds she yelled, "You only have mommy clothes –where are the dresses?" She asked.

Anna didn't respond other than chuckling a bit and looking at the shirt she had laid onto her bed.

It wasn't a bad outfit, and it was pretty cute. A pair of dark washed jeans and a white shirt and a brown belt with some matching boots.

Karlie walked out a few minutes later with an outfit in one hand and shoes in the other. Setting them on the opposite side of the bed, Karlie proceeded to raid Anna's jewelry box before coming back over with earrings then and holding them out.

"Put it on mommy." She said, nearly commanding

Anna gave her an amused look before grabbing the clothes and going into the bathroom to change.

Walking back into the room, fully changed, Anna asked, "Where did you find this?" She gestured towards the outfit.

Karlie smiled, "It was in the back of your closet –it was really hard to find too. It's like you didn't want me to find it." She said, laughing at the thought.

Anna raised an eyebrow, "That's because I didn't."

"Well that's stupid, it's a pretty outfit. Now you look like a princess on the outside."

She heaved a breath, "Well, I've got to do my hair and makeup."

Karlie instantly asked, "Can I-"

"No."

Kendall slowly walked up the driveway, one hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He hadn't been on a date since Jo –and that didn't turn out very well. And Anna was also an ex-girlfriend, so he wasn't sure about the date.

They had started to become friends again. And last time they were friends, they started to date. You know the saying; _Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it._ But in this case it didn't seem like a bad thing at all.

Over the past few days he had defiantly felt the connection between them –whether it was strictly friendly or not. He had started to feel protective over her and started to care more and more about her.

Then there was the kiss earlier today. That was what had really pushed Kendall's feelings from friendly to romantic. The way that he felt so natural around her, his lips molding perfectly with hers.

He made his way up the porch steps and took a long breath before pressing the doorbell.

Kendall looked over his appearance once more, a little nervous. He was wearing dark washed jeans, a white collared dress shirt and some black shoes. His blond hair swept to the side like usual, covering part of his eyes.

He waited, and after a few moment Anna opened the door, smiling.

In truth, she looked stunning. Kendall hadn't seen her look this good before as she stood in the doorway.

Anna's usually wavy hair was straightened and her layers clipped back at the back of her head. She had a strapless black lace dress that went above the knee, with a satin ribbon that went above the waist, and black heels.

She looked nervous, biting her red lips, "I know it's a bit much, Karlie picked out the outfit." He stayed silent, and she took that as a bad sign, "I can go change if you want…" Anna offered.

Kendall snapped from his trance, tearing his eyes from her outfit to look at her face. "No, it's just –you look beautiful." He mentally slapped himself, he sounded like a love-struck teenager.

Anna blushed at the compliment, "Thanks."

"Shouldn't you say thank you to me?" A voice from behind Anna asked. Turning, she saw Karlie standing there, "I picked out mommy's outfit." She reminded.

Kendall smiled at her, "Well you did a great job." He stepped out the door for a second, waving at someone, "You remember my friend Carlos right?"

Karlie nodded, "Yeah, him and the mean man."

He chuckled, "Well, you're going to be staying at Carlos' house while we're out, because Logan and Camille are doing wedding planning."

"Okay."

Carlos came into view as he entered the doorway, "Hey-" His mouth nearly fell open, "Anna, you look… _wow_!"

Anna smiled, "Thanks."

Carlos looked down at Karlie, "Ready to go and play video games all night till you have to go home?" Karlie nodded excitedly, and both Anna and Kendall raised an eyebrow at the Latino, "I mean… how about we watch educational TV?"

Karlie shook her head, "I'll stay with the video games."

Both the parent laughed, "Both of you behave." Both of them said at the same time.

Carlos rolled his eyes before leaning down to let Karlie sit onto his shoulders before standing up. "I've got a bunch of video games we can play."

He started to walk outside and Karlie noticed his car, "You have a police car?" She asked excitedly. "I want to sit in the backseat like a criminal!"

Anna laughed a bit, turning to Kendall, "If Carlos is watching Karlie, who's watching Carlos?"

Kendall rolled his eyes, "Come on." He said, extending his hand.

She paused for a second before lacing her fingers between his. Tonight would be interesting.

Carlos reached his house, after having a heated argument with Karlie on which was better –corndogs or hotdogs. Of course, he had said corndogs, and the little girl might have just been pulling his leg when she said hotdogs were better.

Karlie hopped out of the car, looking at the house, "Do you, Uncle Logie and dad all live next to each other? Because that looks like their houses." She said, pointing to Kendall and Logan's houses.

Carlos nodded, "Yep, and James lives next door." He said, jabbing his thumb towards James' house.

"He's not very nice." She looked up at him, "Do I call you Mr. Carlos or just Carlos? Mommy tells me to always call adult by mister, but your daddy's friend so I wasn't sure."

He shrugged, "I'll be Uncle Carlitos. Logan can be the really boring uncle and I'll be the fun one that is always letting you do whatever you want."

Karlie smiled, "Okay, so what are we doing Uncle Carlitos?"

Carlos picked her up, "We're gonna go and make James miserable by bringing you over…" She gave him a confused look and he explained, "He doesn't like you much."

She smiled, "Alright, what does he hate most?"

"His hair getting messed up and kids."

Karlie was smiling deviously, "Well, let's do both of them!"

Crossing the lawn to the larger house, Karlie asked, "Do we ring the doorbell, because I don't think he'll let me in."

Carlos snorted, "No way," He reached into his pocket, smiling when he pulled out a silver key, "We all have keys to each other's house –Logan said something about safety stuff when we got them." He shrugged, "But, I've got a plan."

He whispered something to her and she nodded, "Okay."

Carlos opened the door quietly, Karlie sneaking off into one direction. He called out, "James!"

After a few minutes of yelling, the pretty boy entered the room, his hair messy and wearing a pair of blue pajama pants and no shirt. "What? I was sleeping?"

"At eight?" The Latino laughed, "Dude, we usually don't go to sleep until midnight!"

"Well, I was tired." James grumbled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the station today?" He yawned.

"Nope." Carlos replied, "I got someone to cover me for the last hour."

James nodded, "Okay, well I'm going back to bed." He said, starting to walk off.

The smaller boy immediately said, "Wait! I need… a glass of water. Yeah, I need water!"

"You know where the kitchen is."

Carlos shook his head, "I forgot –show me?"

"I'm charging you for the last two minutes of my life." James mumbled, walking towards the kitchen.

The first thing he noticed going in there was the small girl sitting on the counter top, swaying her legs lazily. "What are _you_ doing here?" He seethed.

"Uncle Carlitos brought me over." Karlie replied, swinging her legs.

Turning to his friends, James asked harshly, "Why did you bring this thing here?"

Carlos shrugged, "Anna and Kendall had me baby sit, and it felt like the thing to do."

Karlie, who was watching from the background, picked up a glass of water and tossed the water onto James, effectively soaking his hair, "Ooops!" She squealed, running off from the counter and into the next room.

James looked at Carlos:

This was going to be a _long_ night.

**Author's Note: Next chapter will be the date!**

**-I did the part with Carlos and James because quite a few people enjoyed James and how he dislikes Karlie. So, I added that in.**

**I hope the date doesnt seemed rushed, but I mean it's **_Chapter 17_**! I am dying for some Kenna interaction at this point and I need to speed them along a bit.**

**Anyways, please review!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: ****I would like say a very Happy Birthday to **_surfergal23 _**she is amazing and very talented. If you haven't read her work, I strongly reccomend you do.**

_**Count On You**_

_Chapter 18:_

_Fourteen year old Annabelle Peirce walked along side Kendall Knight in the town square._

_Both the young teenagers felt awkward walking alongside each other. Both of them were best of friends, and like a lot of girl and boy best friends, they had to try dating at some point in their lives. Today happened to be that day._

"_So, where are we going Kendall?" Anna asked, breaking the silence, her voice wavering a bit. She hadn't ever been on a date before, and Kendall had only been on two, so neither of them really knew what to do._

_Kendall rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "A movie?" He said, sounding like he was asking her permission._

_She nodded, biting her lip a bit, "Alright."_

_They walked in silence for a few minutes before they reached the movie theater. Kendall looked at the show times, "What do you want to see."_

_Anna looked at the titles for a second, "It doesn't matter." She replied._

_He glanced at the list once more before turning back to the movie attendant, "Two tickets to…" he glanced at the titles, "Whatever movie I guess."_

_The lady behind the glass gave him two tickets to a movie, "Enjoy your movie."_

_Kendall paid for the tickets before leading Anna inside and getting some popcorn for them._

"_You feel really weird too, don't you?" Anna blurted out._

_He smiled sheepishly, nodding, "Yeah, a little bit." He agreed._

_Anna rolled her eyes, "You weren't exactly supposed to answer."_

_Kendall chuckled at her, "Why did you ask me then?" He replied as they sat in the front of the theater._

_She looked down, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth, "Just didn't like that awkward silence between us. I've never had that around you before, the silence I mean." She said, shifting in her seat a bit and glancing over at him._

_He stopped looking at the rolling commercials and previews to look at her, "I does feel weird, doesn't it?"_

_Anna laughed a little bit, "Just a bit." She replied nonchalantly. _

_The lights began to dim, and Anna asked quietly, "What movie are we watching?"_

_Kendall shrugged, trying to put it off, "No idea, I didn't even look at the title of it." He replied, "I've probably never heard of it before now anyways."_

_Once more, she laughed, and this time Kendall joined in with her. A few of the other people in the theater glared at them from behind, but the two didn't see or care._

_Maybe it was possible for them to have a relationship without ruining their friendship. Granted, it would be awkward at first and there would be a silence between them, but that was natural for any relationship. _

_They didn't have to go through their first date trying to find out what the other person liked. Hell, they knew each other just as well as they knew themselves. And it seemed that in stories and movies the best friends always fell for each other. Why would it be different for them?_

_Since they were five they had known each other –nine years ago. They knew each other's secrets and their fears. The whole point of dating was to find someone you were in love with –they already loved each other. They loved each other's as friends, but the line between friendship and a relationship is small and blurred. _

_Both Anna and Kendall watched as the movie titles started on the screen, and the beginning scene began to play._

_After twenty minutes, Kendall subconsciously took hold of Anna's hand. Of course, neither thought much of it –they were close friends and held hands all the time._

_Anna watched the movie, noticing that there were many people kissing in it._

_Losing interest in it, she glanced over at Kendall. His eyes were no longer focused on the movie –had they been in the first place- and were looking off in the corner of the room, finding the lit up exit sign more interesting._

_She squeezed his hand, catching his attention from the wall. Kendall looked at her, and Anna leaned over and whispered, "You're not that interested in this movie either, are you?"_

_Kendall shook his head, "Not really."_

"_I think that everyone in the theater is kissing." She mumbled back, "Mind if we leave? This is really weird."_

_He sighed in relief, "I've been waiting for you to ask that since the movie started." _

_Kendall stood up, pulling her up with him, keeping their fingers laced together. Exiting the theater, they started to walk down the street._

_Anna started to laugh, "I can't believe that we were watching a kissing movie –and you picked the movie."_

_He rolled his eyes, the green orbs landing on her, "I didn't pick the movie –I just said any movie. How was I supposed to know we were going to a chick-flick?"_

"_I was just kidding Kendall." Anna chided, giggling at his face. _

_He looked at her, "So, what do we do?"_

_She thought, trying to find a way to salvage there date. They were fourteen –they didn't want to see a kiss-flick. At that age, kissing wasn't much of a concern or need. What could they do now: they were out of money from paying for the movies._

_Giving up on trying, Anna said, "It doesn't matter."_

_Kendall unlaced his fingers from hers, making her frown. But then he wrapped that arm around her shoulders, "I've got an idea, we could just talk and hang out." He said quietly, turning directions._

_They walked down the roads, just talking for the next hour. They relieved memories from before and laughed._

_It was better than any first date Anna and Kendall could have asked for._

Kendall's car didn't pull up to the local diner, or a restaurant outside of town. He only drove for a minute before stopping the car.

"Where are we?" Anna asked, the night making it hard to see her surroundings through the glass window of the car. But she couldn't see any big silhouettes that looked like a building –she couldn't see any real landmarks actually.

Kendall smirked at her confused expression, "I think you'll recognize it when we get there."

Raising an eyebrow at him, she asked, "We're not moving though. Where could we possibly be going if the car is in park?"

He smiled, "The car isn't moving because we have to walk the rest of the way."

Opening his door, Kendall walked around the car to open hers as well. Anna climbed out slowly and looked around.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but she still couldn't make anything out other than the snow and the trees. "Kendall, there's got to be two inches of snow on the ground and it's freezing outside. What could be that important out there?"

Kendall merely smirked, "It's pretty important." He grabbed two jackets from the backseat, handing the smaller one to her, "I hope it fits, I borrowed it from Camille." He explained as she pulled the black coat on.

Sliding his own coat on, Kendall held out his hand, wondering if Anna would respond.

Slowly she grabbed his hand, "Please tell me you at least have a flashlight if we're wandering through the woods at night."

"That reminds me." He said, reaching back into the seat and grabbing a flashlight. "Come on."

Tugging her lightly by the hand, Kendall led Anna into the trees. "We're going to get lost." She chided lightly, feeling a bit of snow on her feet. "Remind me to wear sneakers next time."

Kendall couldn't help but smile at the thought of a _'next time'_.

"We're almost there." He promised, pulling her farther along in the trees.

Anna looked at him as they walked on, "What happened to going to dinner?"

Kendall shrugged, "Change of plans." He said nonchalantly, guiding her farther into the forest, "We're almost there though."

The two of them walked farther and farther, the flashlight's glow the only source of light in the dark and condensed forest.

Finally, Kendall stopped, pulling Anna to a stop. "Wait here." He said, handing her the flashlight.

"What are you-?" She started to ask, but he continued to walk forward, only turning back once to smile at Anna before continuing forward.

Anna watched as he disappeared into the next patch of trees. There was a sudden sound of a twig snapping made her jump. "Kendall!" She yelled. Anna had hated being in the woods alone at night after getting lost once when she was ten, and since then she didn't going into the woods at night.

"I'm coming back, just hold on a second." Kendall replied calmly.

She tried to just do something to distract her, like looking up at the stars, but the tress blocked her view.

There was the crunch of leaves from behind her, and Anna nearly screamed when she felt someone touch her shoulder from behind.

"Calm down Anna, it's just me." Kendall voice said from behind, turning her to face him.

Turning to face him, Anna asked incredulously, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He chuckled at her, "Sorry, I couldn't find you. You're wearing black in the middle of the forest at night, it's not that easy to see you."

She raised her eyebrows, "Maybe if you told me we were going in the woods I would have worn something more appropriate." She replied sarcastically.

"And you call me sarcastic." Kendall mumbled, reaching out for her hand, "Come on, I've got something to show you."

Taking his hand, following his lead into the trees ahead, Anna asked, "Where are we going?"

He didn't reply to the question, simply saying back, "Trust me, it'll be worth it." Helping her over a fallen tree.

They walked for another moment before Anna started to feel a sense of déjà vu. Why did the middle of the woods seem familiar to her? Something seemed noticeable about it, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

For a second, she looked up at Kendall, seeing those green eyes shining with anticipation. The eyes she had known for so long, the eyes that would never change.

_"My name's Kendall. What's your name?"_

_"Mommy told me not to talk to strangers." _

_"Well, I'll tell about me, and then I won't be a stranger. My name is Kendall Knight, I love hockey, my favorite color is green and I like pizza. Now I'm not a stranger."_

_"I'm Annabelle, but I like Anna better."_

Anna looked up from the ground, trying to see father into the tree's.

In the process, her heel caught on a twig in the ground, concealed by the snow. Stumbling, Anna fell forward.

A pair of arms caught her, and Kendall smiled, "You're such a klutz sometimes, Belle."

_"Come on Belle, you can hold my hand for support, I won't let you fall."_

Anna stopped walking for a second, "What did you call me?" She asked carefully, not sounding mad, but rather surprised.

"Belle."

"That's what I thought that I heard."

Kendall bit the inside of his cheek, "Sorry, I won't call you that if you don't want me to."

She laughed for a second, "No, it's fine. I was just surprised at it; I haven't been called that in ages."

There was a silence, and Kendall randomly blurted out something that had been bothering him for a while, "What do I do about my mom? And Katie?"

Anna stopped for a second. She didn't think of his family at all through all of this. He'd been keeping a secret from his mom and sister. She'd never had to keep a secret from her family, since her parents were dead and her aunt didn't speak to her. "I think that when and where you tell them is your choice. Your mom will be surprised, but she'll understand why you wouldn't have told her right away."

Kendall smiled a bit, "You wouldn't mind if I invited her and Katie up here and told them then?"

She rolled her eyes in the darkness, "Kendall, I don't have to approve of anything."

"You've got to be there."

Anna shrugged, "I would hope so. When do you want to tell them?"

There was another silence, but Kendall said, "Around Christmas, I told mom when I left we would still have Christmas together. I was thinking about telling them right before then."

She smiled at him, noticing how happy he seemed with the thought of his mom and sister meeting his daughter. "I think that's a great idea." She paused, "But, I think that we should concentrate on where were going –as we're in the wood in the night."

He chuckled, guided her into the last row of trees, "Close your eyes." Kendall whispered.

Anna looked at him, her eyebrows raised and she was looking at him with a shocked expression, "It's pitch black out, I can barely see anything anyways."

"Anna, just trust me."

Sighing, she mumbled, "You are going to get me lost in the middle of the woods." But she complied, closing her eyes and letting him put his arm around her waist and lead her the small distance further.

Finally, they came to a stop, "Alright Anna, you can open your eyes." He said, hearing a relieved sigh from her.

Letting her eyes flutter opened, Anna tried to have her eyes adjust to the small amount of light in front of her.

Finally she recognized the place that they were; surprised that she could have missed it before. A park: their park to be exact. The bench wasn't cover with snow, rather cleaned off with a blanket drapped over it. In the middle was a flashlight, with a small basket behind it.

"Kendall…" She trailed off, being at a loss for words.

He frowned slightly, "I know, it's really terrible. We can go get a bite to eat at the diner if you want; this was a really bad idea." Kendall mumbled, cursing himself under his breath, turning his head away.

Anna reached up, forcing him to face her. "Kendall, you've got to learn to read emotions better." She looked once more at the bench, "I think it's amazing. A candlelight dinner is cliché, I'd rather this… besides, the park is special to me, it's the place I first met you. I'd take being with you here over a fancy dinner every day." She reassured.

Kendall smiled, "Seriously?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Of course, how about we go sit before I get frostbite on my toes." She offered.

He laughed a bit, leading her onto one side of the bench and sitting at the other.

Anna peeked at the basket, "What is in the basket?"

Kendall reached under the small blanket on top of it, grabbing something, "Dinner." He replied cheekily.

She rolled her eyes at him, "You never lose your sarcasm, do you?"

He pulled out two wrapped sandwiches, two containers with hot chocolate in them and something wrapped in foil. "Nope, never." He replied.

Anna looked at the sandwich as he passed her one, "I feel like we're doing our first date all over again." She laughed lightly.

Kendall shrugged, "It is our first date again, in a weird way."

She smiled at him, "Nearly nine years ago… it feels so long since then."

He nodded in agreement, "It has been, I mean, we've grown up."

Anna smiled, "I think I like this first date better." She admitted, "Because we know what it feels like to date each other, and we don't have to worry about being stupid."

He rolled his eyes.

Whether fourteen or twenty three, Kendall and Anna would always be the same. They would go through hard times, and they would hurt each other and their friends, but for this day –this moment- it could be just them.

With no worrying on what would happen tomorrow or a week from now, they could enjoy being together.

Like they should.

**Author's Note: I feel really bad to say this, but this is actually the last chapter. I didn't ever plan on ending the story here, but I've gotten bad news in the last week and I can't really concentrate on writting now.**

**As some of you may know, my sister and I have been through a number of surgery's and have been in hospitals over and over. On Monday we are going back into the hospital for more testing and possibly another surgery. I feel bad leaving this story out without an ending, since I don't know how long I'll be in the hospital.**

**Saying that, I am going to end the story here. I know that there were alot of loose ends that I needed to tie and cracks to fill, but I don't really think I'll be able to clear them by Monday.**

**I really hope you guys understand.**

**Saying that, I understand if you don't review, and I wouldn't blame you. **


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